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PROVO — From a troubled high school senior to a college star now on the verge of going to the NFL, Kyle Van Noy has transformed a nightmare into an incredible dream.
The former BYU linebacker will be one of the fortunate few to hear an NFL team call his name in this week’s draft. Not bad for a kid forced to delay his college career after having legal issues in high school.
“It’s just a blessing and honor to be able to see your name called,” said Van Noy. “You worked so hard and you never would have thought as a little kid playing that you would be in the NFL draft, and now I have the chance. It’s pretty remarkable to see and how far I’ve come.”
All things considered, perhaps no BYU football player has come further.
As has been well documented, Van Noy was charged with DUI in January 2009 in his hometown of Reno, Nevada. To his credit, Van Noy stuck with his pledge to sign with BYU even though he had to defer enrollment for six months.
Almost from the outset, the four-star recruit was a great college player. Four years later, with his degree in hand, Van Noy is poised to get drafted most likely no later than the second round.
For that, and everything else in his life, a humbled Van Noy is grateful.
“I’m pretty blessed and happy that I get the opportunity to get drafted,” he said.
It's just a blessing and honor to be able to see your name called. You worked so hard and you never would have thought as a little kid playing that you would be in the NFL draft, and now I have the chance. It's pretty remarkable to see and how far I've come.
–Kyle Van Noy
Van Noy has been reflective in the time leading up to this monumental event. All the people who have helped along the way have flashed through his mind.
He is remembering the coaches, from the youth leagues and high school up through Bronco Mendenhall and his staff at BYU. He also recalls all the BYU teammates, especially Ross Apo and Cody Hoffman, as well as the close friendship with former basketball star Brandon Davies, who is now in the NBA.
Van Noy stood by Davies during the latter’s own much-publicized Honor Code violation that resulted in a suspension. Like Van Noy, Davies didn’t bail on BYU when he easily could have jumped ship.
“Going through this process has made me reflect a lot on coaches who pushed me extra hard,” Van Noy said. “I have a couple of mentors who kept on me as far as telling me to live right and do the right things on and off the field. It’s been a long process, and I’m just excited for the opportunity.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about a bunch of people that have helped me get to this point. There was a time where I could think of where no one supported me at all; there were just a couple of people. That was when I got in trouble.”
Van Noy is also appreciative of his four years at BYU, during which he met his future wife, Marissa Powell. As trite as it may sound, he grew up in college.
It’s an understatement to say he was a bit unrefined as a teenager.
“For the most part I would say BYU helped me out quite a bit as far as the mental aspect of just battling through situations and respecting others,” he said. “I didn’t really respect myself. I didn’t really respect others before I got there. I kind of felt very entitled. … The biggest thing I learned was respect.”
The values he refined along the way will come in handy from now on. The lifestyles of the NFL and BYU aren’t exactly aligned with each other.
Former BYU linebacker Bryan Kehl quickly learned as much during his rookie season. From the start, he stood out as unusual, to the point of almost being a curiosity to his teammates.
Kehl’s advice to Van Noy is to be where he’s supposed to be when he should be there.
“When you come from BYU you’re going to a totally different atmosphere,” he said. “You have to be prepared to be on your own. You’re different.”
