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PROVO — If you don't know anything about BYU strong safety Ethan Slade before he likely makes his starting debut Saturday against Sam Houston State (8:15 p.m. MDT, FS1), teammate Malik Moore wants you to know one thing.
The redshirt sophomore from Orem is just 13 games into his BYU career, but with injuries to Micah Harper (knee) and Talan Alfrey, Slade was listed atop the depth chart that coaches released Monday morning from campus.
And no one deserves the spot more, Moore said.
"If it came down to doing two workouts a day, Ethan was right there next to me, trying to learn the playbook and doing everything in his power (to be ready for the season)," said Moore, recalling offseason skill work where he, Slade and NFL-bound safety D'Angelo Mandell would be the only ones to show up. "He has worked extremely hard to get to the position that he's in right now, and I couldn't be any happier for Ethan; it's amazing to see how far he's come. I'm excited for him, to see how he's done, and I know he'll go out there and ball out. He's going to put everything into it."
Slade's collegiate resume is light, to say the least. After serving a two-year mission in Chile, the former Orem High standout accepted a preferred walk-on spot at BYU, where he was barely a fan despite growing up in a house full of them and attending high school just four miles from campus.
He was recruited by Air Force and Navy, and received preferred walk-on spots from BYU, Utah and Utah State. But the Cougars were the pick, for proximity and a handful of other reasons for the close friend of former BYU receiver (and Los Angeles Rams draft pick) Puka Nacua and Utah State quarterback Cooper Legas, as he's posted on Instagram.
Slade's parents, Joelle and Rick, are BYU fans, and his newlywed wife, Abbi, danced for the school's acclaimed Cougarettes team. In some ways, they were probably more excited than he was when his name shot up to the top of the depth chart.
"Everybody thinks it is cool," Slade told the Deseret News. "But I know if I don't play well on Saturday, it doesn't really matter."
He's hardly the only young player on the Cougars' depth chart. In fact, the third-year sophomore may be considered among the veterans in a group that includes 15 freshmen or redshirt freshmen of the two-deep on offense and defense.
Slade's coaches and teammates are confident in his play, though. Next man up, they all say, reciting the old football cliche.
The 6-foot, 190-pound safety has been held to 18 tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass breakups in 13 games scattered across two seasons, including a career-best six tackles and a pass breakup in last year's 38-26 win over Utah State and five more stops a game later in a 28-20 loss to Notre Dame.
The sophomore leveraged that momentum into spring practices, when Slade first caught the attention of new defensive coordinator Jay Hill.
Head coach Kalani Sitake told Hill to keep an eye on Slade. Even with Harper and Alfrey making waves in camp, Slade wasn't far behind.
"Ethan's proven to me that he's a playmaker. He's done that in spring ball and in fall camp again," Hill said after Tuesday's practice. "I know even prior to me coming in, he was a guy that people liked on defense; coach Kalani really liked him. He's proven his worth to the program here and has done nothing but impress me since I've been here."
Hill said during Monday's "Coordinators Corner" program on BYUtv that the Cougars may favor a "safety-by-committee" approach, while Alfrey, who attended Tuesday's practice with a sling on his injured shoulder, was on the mend. Coaches have discussed tweaking the scheme, maybe playing with a single safety (Moore) or moving former FCS All-American cornerback Eddie Heckard from Weber State to a fill-in role.
But that's not the immediate scenario Hill envisions. He trusts the players in the strong safety position, which is currently led by Slade, Utah State transfer Crew Wakley and former Timpview standout Raider Damuni.
But Slade sits atop the list for a reason.
"Ethan's proven to me that he's a playmaker. He's done that in spring ball and in fall camp again," Hill said. "I know even prior to me coming in, he was a guy that people liked on defense; coach Kalani really liked him. He's proven his worth to the program here and has done nothing but impress me since I've been here."
No one deserves a chance to start more, Moore added.
"He deserves the world," the senior from San Diego said. "He deserves everything, or at least a lot."
