A newcomer’s view: BYU linebacker and UCLA transfer Choe Bryant-Strother glad to be part of Cougar defense
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- BYU junior linebacker Choe Bryant-Strother makes a tackle during the game against Southern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
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- BYU defenders make a tackle during the Big 12 game against Kansas State at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
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- BYU defenders make a tackle during the non-conference game against Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
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- BYU sophomore safety Koa Eldridge (20) makes a tackle during the non-conference game against SMU at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
Choé Bryant-Strother vividly remembers what happened on Sept. 4, 2021. That was the day that his team at that time, UCLA, hosted No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.
“We were like a 30-point underdog and we beat them,” Bryant-Strother said. “We felt like we destroyed them.”
He said that was probably the most fun he had ever had in a college football game — at least until last Saturday when his new team, BYU, crushed No. 13 Kansas State, 38-9, at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
“If that wasn’t better than 2021, it was really close,” Bryant-Strother said with a grin. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in a game.”
He said he felt the most rewarding aspect was having the Cougar defense outplay their Wildcat counterparts.
“It’s fun to turn someone’s game plan against them and just do it better than they do,” he said. “Before the game, we were just saying that we just needed to do our job better than they did their job and things would be OK.”
As a first-year transfer, Bryant-Strother may not yet be a household name but Cougar linebackers coach Justin Ena said last week that he’s getting acclimated and making huge strides.
For his part, Bryant-Strother said there has been quite a bit of change to deal with, including rotating positions.
“Last year I played defensive line but the two years before that, I played inside linebacker,” Bryant-Strother said. “I got comfortable at defensive line, but felt I was more suited for inside linebacker. I had gotten two years under my belt at inside linebacker, so I knew I could make the transition pretty quickly.”
He’s also been adjusting to BYU defensive scheme, which requires a lot from the linebackers.
“I wouldn’t say more than I expected, but it’s just a lot,” Bryant-Strother said. “It’s definitely a growth thing. I’ve just got to take time and make sure I’m going on an upwards track and getting better every day. But I’m enjoying the process. I’m enjoying everything about it, and I think I’m learning a lot every day.”
A big advantage, in his view, is that the BYU defense is locked in on team success and it has shown on the field in the first four games.
“It’s exciting,” Bryant-Strother said. “It’s so fun to watch your boys on the field. When you’re on the field, you can hear your boys on the sideline. Everybody’s excited to be out there. Everybody knows their role and are excited it. It really just makes you happy to be a BYU Cougar, to be honest, and especially a Cougar in this defense.”
Bryant-Strother is officially in his fifth year of college football and graduated from UCLA, but still has two years of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His goal is to get to the NFL but his focus right now is on just being the best he can be each day.
“I’m taking it as it comes,” Bryant-Strother said. “I’m just trying to stay where my feet are. I feel like if I do the little things right, it’ll lead to the big things coming out how I want them to be.”
That’s a veteran attitude, one that is about the process instead of the destination. That’s something Bryant-Strother said he sees permeate the entire BYU team.
“I think that that starts at the top and then goes down,” Bryant-Strother said. “I think Coach Kalani (Sitake) is a great leader and sets a great impression on how we should take on each week. Our whole team is very mature when it comes to the things we handle.”
He also believes that the team bonds is having a big impact.
“This is one of the closer teams I’ve been on,” Bryant-Strother said. “We’re not afraid to say things to each other. Nobody’s afraid to hold each other accountable. That comes with being close to your team because if you aren’t close, it’s kind of hard to get on them about things. I think this team is super-close and super-mature, and I love being a past of it.”
He believes that level-headed mentality will make a big difference this week. He recalled how his UCLA team didn’t maintain the same level of play after the big win over LSU in 2021 and the Bruins lost to Fresno State the next week, 40-37.
“I think we kind of felt we were on top of the world,” Bryant-Strother said. “With the BYU team this year, when it comes to the point spreads and news and what the outside sources are saying, we just kind of keep our heads down. If we do our job better than they do their job, and we prepare how we’re supposed to prepare, and we play our best game and they play their best game, then everything will work out. I think the maturity is the main reason why we’re able to do that.”
