Looking back at a college football season that didn’t go the way the team wanted it to can be painful, particularly if you feel like individually and as a unit you didn’t perform consistently enough.

But players and coaches can’t hide from it either. It happened, so all you can do is learn from it and use it to motivate you to be better.

That’s the approach BYU senior offensive lineman Caleb Etienne is taking as he prepares for the 2024 season after the challenges of 2023.

“Looking back at it, sure, it was a rough one,” Etienne said after practice earlier this week. “We had our losses and ended up one game short of a bowl game. That is right there makes you just want to like go hard for next year. We’ve got to go to a bowl game.”

He said he feel like his Cougar squad knows now what the Big 12 is all about, so the guys will be better prepared.

“We went through that so we have a goal now,” Etienne said. “We’ve just got to believe in it and attack it. We want it.”

He didn’t hesitate to point to his own group as one of the areas that has to elevate its game to achieve those goals.

“It starts in the trenches with the o-line,” Etienne said. “It’s got to start with us. If we’re soft and we’re not doing our job, we’re not going to win any games. It’s just that simple. We’ve got to lock in for this season and show everybody that we can do it. We are going to do what we’ve got to do, so I’m excited.”

Etienne and the rest of the unit have a new perspective with the arrival of BYU offensive line coach TJ Woods.

“He’s bringing his tools and he’s giving them to us, trying to make us better,” Etienne said. “He’s seeing both ways. He’s got his eye on the way he wants us to do certain things but he also lets us do stuff that we did before. You don’t want to take everything away from us. I like what he’s doing.”

Etienne said Woods had worked with him personally on improving some of his technique to make him more effective.

“Last year I’d say I didn’t play too well with my hands,” Etienne said. “He’s really emphasizing that, on me just being more physical with my hands and just striking. I’ve got long arms so he just wants me to use them. He’s really pushing and trying to make me be better as a player.”

The Cougar senior said that one of the keys for the offensive line to be its best is for it to be completely unified and cohesive.

“We’ve got to find each other,” Etienne said. “We’ve got to know what we planned for within that room. We’ve got to have something that we’re all bought into and have a mindset that nobody’s going to beat us on this play. We’ve just got to have that mentality on every rep. We’re building on it each and every day, trying to get better.

Even though there are times where the offensive line hasn’t been perfect in spring camp so far, Etienne said he’s optimistic about the growth he is seeing.

“We have a lot of guys in the room right now with us and more coming,” Etienne said. “I feel like we’ve got a great group coming up for this upcoming season. We’re just looking good each and every day, stacking good days on top of good days.

“But you also have to have a positive attitude. If you lose a rep, don’t dwell on it. Go on to the next play. Go finish somebody and just keep moving on. It’s football.”

Just like every other BYU player, Etienne wants the Cougar offense to start clicking from the start and never look back. To do that, he said everyone needs to be on the same page.

“We just have to be able to be coached and know what we’re doing out there so we can go out and play at full speed,” Etienne said. “We can’t be second guessing or overthinking because one wrong move and you will get beat. We’ve got to have more focus to be strong offensively. We want to just go dominate. We’re just going to keep working and putting in the time.”

Newsletter