1 / 6

BYU sophomore wide receiver Kody Epps pumps up the team before the game against Arkansas at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

2 / 6

BYU sophomore wide receiver Kody Epps runs the ball up the field during the Big 12 game against Oklahoma at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

3 / 6

BYU wide receiver Kody Epps speaks to reporters during the Big 12 college football media days in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

4 / 6

BYU wide receiver Kody Epps talks to reporters after the media golf tournament at Ceder Hills golf course in Cedar Hills on Monday, June 26, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

5 / 6

BYU wide receiver Kody Epps carries some Nike gear during report day before fall camp in August of 2022.

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

6 / 6

BYU wide receiver Kody Epps catches a touchdown pass during the 41-20 Cougar loss to Oregon at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

❮ ❯

BYU junior wide receiver Kody Epps frankly says that his plans as a young man in Los Angeles didn’t include coming to Provo, Utah.

But as he thought about it after practice on Tuesday, he said he’s glad that’s where he is now.

“This is a place that I would have never imagined I’d be when I was five years old, six years old, even 17 years old,” Epps said. “But I am so blessed to be in Utah, to be around the people that I’m around, the coaches that I have, the friends that I have, the teammates that I’ve have. I couldn’t be more grateful and so humbled to have this opportunity.”

Epps is going into his fifth year as a member of the Cougar football team, including the non-counting COVID-19 year in 2020 and a medical redshirt year in 2021.

When he has been healthy, he’s shown that he can be a big-time weapon for the BYU offense, tallying 65 receptions for 675 yards and six touchdowns.

But his success on the football field isn’t one of the main reasons he said he is enjoying being a Cougar so much at this point in his career.

Epps only took a moment to think when asked about what he thinks the best part of being in Provo is.

“My favorite part has to be the fact that I’m around people 24/7 who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,” Epps said.  “That means so much to me because you’re dealing with people with a lot of integrity, a lot of honor, and a lot of people who are very, very selfless and don’t think about themselves first.”

He said that he feels like when he sees people like that everywhere, it impresses him how much everyone cares.

“Everybody is focused on making sure that everybody else around them is doing well and that life is on the up and up,” Epps said. “I wake up and I go to class with these people. After class I go to meetings with these people. After meetings, I go to football practice and then I go hang out with these people. I get to be around Christ-like people on a daily basis.”

He also expressed his appreciation for his friends and teammates who come from non-Christian backgrounds, guys like quarterback Jake Retzlaff who is Jewish and defensive back Mory Bamba who is Muslim, for being so strong with their faith as well.

“I admire them because of the selflessness, the integrity, the courage you have to have to have a completely different faith and to step into this realm of being at BYU,” Epps said. “It signifies how great of men they are and that they’re going to be really special in their lives. The wisdom that you gain from being around different people from different perspectives and different religious backgrounds, that ultimately just broadens your horizons a lot. It strengthens your armor when you go out into the real world.”

He affirmed that everyone has their shortcomings and no one is perfect, but he feels like being around people who are trying makes an enormous difference.

“When everyone around you is aspiring to be better, it makes it a lot easier and a lot more fun,” Epps said.

The Cougar junior said he feels like he is working to apply the lessons he has learned to make him better both in life and in football.

“It’s about my mindset,” Epps said. “I’m a competitive person and I want to do well at all times. I never want to fail. But my mindset and inwardly how I feel about myself, how I feel about the game, has taken a big step. Each and every time I make a mistake, I embrace it. I embrace it fully. There’s nothing that I leave behind. And I just have so much fun with learning from the mistakes that I’ve made. It’s about the mental aspect of embracing all of it.”

Newsletter