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CEDAR HILLS — In lieu of the traditional media day that has customarily been held in July as an FBS independent BYU readies for the upcoming football season, the Cougars will join the Big 12 Conference at the stroke of midnight July 1 and report to the league's media days in Arlington, Texas, on July 12-13.
So the athletic department did something different Monday, bringing together Kalani Sitake, his assistant coaches and football staff, and a handful of players and recent alumni — from Kedon Slovis and Kody Epps to Jaren Hall and Blake Freeland, to name a few — for a four-man scramble event with local media at Cedar Hills Golf Club.
And when a few superlatives were handed out following the scramble, one name rose to the top of a certain chart.
There's something about BYU quarterbacks and being able to bomb a drive down the fairway.
Slovis won the event's long drive competition with a 320-yard rip off the No. 10 tee, a testament both to his athleticism and gunslinging arm — and probably how many tee times he's had since moving to Provo in January.
"I've played more golf with teammates in the past two months than I have my entire life," Slovis said. "There's a lot of stuff going on, but we usually lift in the mornings, so we're done for the rest of the day. So we go play volleyball, or we shoot hoops. … I think PRPs and workouts are pretty great, but to me, that's the biggest difference here. We're a pretty tight-knit team."
Golf isn't the only thing that's been in Slovis' game the last six months. The fifth-year senior who spent time at USC and Pitt before transferring to BYU for his final season of eligibility has been plenty busy since arriving in Provo before spring football.
After being named the starting quarterback early in spring camp, Slovis has organized plenty of pickup games, offseason workouts and been one of the main drivers of the program's player-run practices.
He's also played a lot of golf with his teammates, and has found other ways to connect with his new team. Slovis, who is not a member of the university's sponsoring faith, went to Sunday's BYU athletics devotional at the Marriott Center that featured head coach Kalani Sitake, football teammates Tyler Batty and Chase Roberts, and other athletes like soccer star Olivia Katoa and women's volleyball setter Whitney Bower.
He's also attended church with Roberts, regularly called Epps "Elder" on Instagram, and has found time to slip away to Southern California to work with former BYU quarterback John Beck and 3DQB.
But as far as his golf game? Well, that may be the least surprising thing about Slovis.
"He's an athlete," Sitake said. "It just seems like every quarterback can play golf, doesn't it? Jaren Hall almost drove the green on 18 today, too, and Taysom Hill smashes the ball when he plays. These guys all get it, and it doesn't surprise me that Kedon can do it, too."
For as much as he enjoys his golf or his pickup volleyball games, Slovis has also taken his responsibilities as a senior and starting quarterback seriously. The former USC quarterback of more than 7,000 yards and 58 touchdowns (who also threw for 2,397 yards and 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions in his lone season at Pitt) seems like a perfect match for BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick's West Coast spread offense.
Slovis wants to be ready to take advantage of it, too.
"A lot of it falls on us, the quarterbacks. It's nice to be named the starter, so you can kind of assume that role," said Slovis, who also noted returning center Connor Pay for organizing a lot of the team's offseason workouts. "I appreciate the coaches giving me the opportunity of PRPs throughout the summer."
What a great opportunity to listen to these men speak during tonight's Athletics devotional. pic.twitter.com/6l5aZjTtJY
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) June 26, 2023
He's also in Provo to play football, a one-year transfer with eyes on projecting himself into the NFL following his one-year stint in Pat Narduzzi's offense.
But Slovis wants to take full advantage of his year in Utah — even beyond football.
"He's really coming into his own," Sitake said. "I love his leadership; he's doing some great things. The offensive players did a retreat together in St. George, and he's organizing the PRPs. I've been really, really impressed with his leadership.
"They just want to do everything together," the coach added. "The players played golf a couple of weeks back, got all dressed up — and I heard the golf sucked. But they looked the part, and they looked like they were having fun. They like hanging out today, hanging out in the locker room, hanging out in meetings. This is a really close team, and they really don't need me to do it."
Slovis doesn't plan on those offseason team activities to end anytime soon, either. He probably won't spend much time at home — Arizona is too hot this time of year, he chides — and he'll visit Beck a time or two.
But he also really wants to continue to get to know his teammates, and get to know the 65,000 fans that will watch him play on Saturdays this fall at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The summer is just getting started. And so is Slovis.
"I love the summers here," he said. "It's super nice. It's going to get hot, but it's been pretty nice. We've done a lot of team-building stuff, too."
