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PROVO — When BYU wide receiver Darius Lassiter suits up at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for the Cougars' first-ever game in Big 12 Conference play Saturday afternoon, he may line up across from a familiar face: his brother, Kwinton.
The Jayhawks defensive back is a senior at Kansas and followed the family legacy by enrolling in Lawrence, where the 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback has seven tackles, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and two interceptions in three seasons.
Darius Lassiter chose his own path, the one not taken by Kwinton, or older brother Kwamie II — who is now with the Cincinnati Bengals — or their father, the late Kwamie Lassiter who set a Kansas single-game interception record en route to All-Big 8 second-team honors in 1994 before a nine-year NFL career.
The elder Kwamie Lassiter died while exercising at the young age of 49 in 2019, but Darius Lassiter knows exactly what his father will be doing at 1:30 p.m. MDT while watching his two sons line up in Big 12 play from the great gridiron in the sky.
"I just know that he is smiling up there," Darius Lassiter said. "This game is something he always wanted to see happen, and we finally get that opportunity, so it will be a big day for the family. No matter what the score is or the outcome of the game, he just wants us to go out there and play our hearts out with no regrets."
Because of the nature of the two sons' positions, there's a possibility the Lassiters could line up across from one another. That would make the moment even sweeter for Darius and his family.
It's a possibility the two have discussed since Lassiter transferred to BYU from Eastern Michigan.
But Lassiter admits he probably won't be texting or calling his brother much this week.
"If we do get that matchup this weekend, I know I will get the best out of him and he will get the best out of me on the field," the Provo-based Lassiter said. "Regardless of being brothers, we will both go out there and represent our teams, so we will both put in work."
The elder Kwamie Lassiter never pushed his children to go to Kansas, but his influence was felt in the lives of each of his children, including three Division I football players and a daughter who danced in both the NBA and NFL.
"My dad would leave us some little quotes that always stuck with us," Kwinton Lassiter told KUsports.com last year. "He'd always tell us to be the best, regardless of what you're doing. And my mom helped a lot around that, too. She's always praying for us, she's very spiritual, and that helps us, too."
While claiming his dad's final home of Chandler, Arizona, as his hometown, Darius Lassiter was a three-star recruit out of high school, prepping at Lawrence Free State High — just a 3.6-mile drive from KU.
He followed the path of his father, who worked as a radio host for the Arizona Cardinals' radio network and was a defensive backs coach at Mesa Community College and the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives after his retirement, to Butler Community College and first-team all-conference and NJCAA All-America honorable mention honors.
Legacy is important to the Lassiter clan. The Rock Chalk legacy mattered in each of the two brothers' decisions that followed that path, Kwinton Lassiter said.
"It means a lot. It's just a legacy. Coming to a special place like KU is great, but also knowing that my dad and my brother were here, that we all could wear the same number; that's very cool," he said. "I'm just trying to keep continuing the legacy, have fun on the field, be passionate about what you're doing, and go hard on every drill."
But when no scholarship offer from Kansas came following graduation, he took the best offer he could at Eastern Michigan, where he caught 40 passes for 471 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games en route to a 9-4 season in 2022.
A year later, Lassiter hit the transfer portal — and made his way to Provo, a decision he doesn't regret after catching nine passes for 116 yards and a touchdown during the Cougars' 3-0 start.
"Darius and the guys we picked up in the offseason have been huge contributors with Kody (Epps) and Keanu (Hill) going through some things at the beginning of the season," said BYU linebacker Max Tooley, who had an interception Saturday against Arkansas. "Darius has been just what you want in a wide receiver. Long. Big body. Go up and grab the ball. Make plays after the catch. It's been great having him and he's been a great addition to our team and gives us a different threat on offense. I am happy that he chose the Y."
Choosing BYU made Lassiter something of the odd-man out in his family, he freely jokes. It's easy to feel that way with two brothers who played for Kansas, and a father who led the Jayhawks to a 23-20 win over the Cougars in the 1992 Aloha Bowl.
He isn't afraid to represent his own side in the low-key family feud, though. Darius Lassiter can hold his own against his brothers who, like oft-downtrodden fans of Kansas' football program, have been "extremely loyal" to a program that hasn't won a conference title since 1968 (the Jayhawks were Big 12 North division champs with an Orange Bowl win under Mark Mangino in 2007) before last year's 6-7 breakthrough under Lance Leipold.
"KJ and I were talking last week, and he kinda got mad when I mentioned Kansas being a basketball school; we like to tease each other," he said. "He's always going to be a Jayhawk at heart, but he supports me no matter where I am. He just wants to see a great game between each other.
"Sometimes they double-team me, trying to boost up their school. But they know."
Lassiter is happy he chose BYU, as well. Growing up, he dreamed of starring in the Big 12 like his father broke through the Big 8 before him.
Even though it may come in a slightly different shade of blue and a different logo on his chest, he can't wait for Saturday's conference opener any less.
"Our preparation hasn't changed from week one," he said. "Even though our first few games didn't have the same Big 12 status Kansas has, we still need to get ready for the game the same way. We need to amp things up a little bit since we have tougher opponents in conference, so we need to be locked in every day at practice."
