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PROVO — Kaleb Hayes had two secrets to keep this weekend, and both of them were set free by Monday.
The BYU cornerback was one of four players who went to Las Vegas prior to the season to shoot a promotional video debuting the Cougars' new blackout uniforms that will be worn Saturday for the No. 16 Cougars' game against Notre Dame (5:30 p.m. MDT, NBC), and the BYU creative team revealed the uniforms to the team Friday before a public unveiling Monday morning.
By the time Hayes jumped on a Zoom video call with local reporters Monday afternoon, though, another secret had been cut loose: Hayes' roommate and fellow cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally would be available for all four quarters against the Fighting Irish (2-2) after his suspension for targeting was reversed on an appeal.
"I thought we were keeping that a secret, but I guess the cat's out of the bag," Hayes said with his trademark wide grin about Jeudy-Lally's non-suspension. "He's my roommate, so I hear things first. He was very excited that it did get overturned; it was kind of an iffy call. It was sad, but we expected to move forward from that, regardless of the situation.
"I'm glad that my boy is back. Free Gabe; we're going to come after it. The mindset hasn't changed. … We're just going to come up there and play our best ball."
Jeudy-Lally was ejected from the second half of the Cougars' 38-26 win over in-state rival Utah State Thursday for an illegal hit to the head, a play that was ruled targeting on review by the officiating crew. The Vanderbilt transfer totaled four tackles and scored the highest coverage grade of the game among cornerbacks, according to PFF.
The on-field call cannot be appealed during the game, but recent college football legislation allowed for an independent committee to reassess targeting violations on appeal, with the ability to overturn the first-half suspension. BYU followed those steps during the three-day weekend after playing late Thursday night and received clearance for Jeudy-Lally to play all four quarters, instead of just two, Saturday.
Now, he'll be back to face Notre Dame in a rare NBC showcase game for the program, a showcase that will (if nothing else) look good on national television when paired with Notre Dame's previously announced all-white uniforms with gold trim.
As the cliche goes: look good, feel good, play good.
"I believe in that," BYU linebacker Payton Wilgar said. "It's always fun to have a special uniform, especially for a game like this, Notre Dame in Las Vegas. It's a huge game, and it's always fun to have those surprise uniforms. It'll be an exciting game on Saturday."
Hayes has been keeping the black uniforms under wraps since he and teammates Puka Nacua, Chris Brooks and Keenan Pili were called to Las Vegas on a Friday night before the season to shoot a promotional video for the game at the UFC's Apex training center in Summerlin, Nevada.
The secret held until Friday when, with an assist from UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin and Linq headline magician and "America's Got Talent" winner Mat Franco, the BYU creative team unveiled the all-black uniform for Saturday's game that includes royal blue trim and a gradient royal blue-to-black helmet never before used by BYU football.
Secret's out, Kaleb.
"I do like to talk, but I feel like I keep secrets. I'm not really blabbering; c'mon, guys," Hayes said in joking with the media. "It was very exciting. We talked about it with the boys, how we had to keep this secret, but it was good for us to bring back the black.
"I was kind of upset when I got here to BYU and they discontinued it. I never got to try out the black uniforms. We had to bring it back."
Hayes said the all-black uniforms, which first debuted in 2012 against Oregon State (Hayes' previous school before transferring) and formally retired after the 2020 season, just had to make an appearance during his time in Provo.
"I'm glad we all had a vote about it, and it came out," said Hayes, a fifth-year senior. "I'm happy for Cougar Nation, and we're excited to get dressed up in it."
Kicking competition continues
Sitake also confirmed that the kicking competition between regular starter Jake Oldroyd and backups Justen Smith and Cash Peterman remains ongoing after the redshirt junior from Southlake, Texas continued to struggle last Thursday.
Oldroyd made a 45-yard field goal against the Aggies, but missed another attempt from less than 40 yards on the same night. In all, the normally reliable kicker who has converted from as far away as 70 yards in his career, including a game-winning field goal against Arizona with his green shoes in Sitake's first game as a head coach, has made just 5-of-10 field goals this year and only one of his last six attempts.
"I feel like competition brings out the best in you. It's OK; we'll come to a conclusion with what works best for us come Saturday," said Sitake, who also noted the ongoing running-back-by-committee competition featuring Christopher Brooks, Lopini Katoa and Miles Davis. "I thought we saw a better Chris Brooks after competition (last week), so let's compete and do what works best."
BYU's depth chart released Monday features Oldroyd and Smith as co-starters, with redshirt-freshman Peterman as backup. Sitake previously said that other potential kickers, including punter and holder Ryan Rehkow, won't be considered to take placekicks or kickoffs at the present time.
BROADCAST UPDATE 👇 pic.twitter.com/6YSPBIrJE4
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) October 3, 2022
Kick time announced
The Cougars won't be looking ahead past Notre Dame, but for logistical reasons, we can.
BYU, in conjunction with ESPN and the Southeastern Conference, also announced Monday the kickoff time and broadcast plans for next Saturday's game against Arkansas.
The Cougars will host the Razorbacks, who fell four spots outside the AP Top 25 this week following a two-point loss to Texas A&M, at 1:30 p.m. MDT at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The game will be broadcast on either ABC or ESPN, with the final determination coming after this weekend's games.
The two schools had previously competed in baseball, basketball, women's soccer, women's tennis and women's volleyball, but Saturday's meeting will be the first all-time in football between the Cougars and Razorbacks, who are 3-2 on the season with wins over No. 23 Cincinnati and losses to Texas A&M and No. 2 Alabama.
