Why didn't more BYU players follow defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan?

PROVO — Moments after BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill accepted the same position at Michigan, and perhaps before the news was even official, his eventual replacement Kelly Poppinga was on the phone with what felt like the entire roster.

One of the first to ring Poppinga was Tre Alexander, the rising junior cornerback whom Poppinga recruited out of the Atlanta area before he started 12 of 14 games during his sophomore season.

Alexander had a simple message for K-Pop: "Coach, I'm not going anywhere."

He wasn't alone, either.

Through the coaching transition that saw former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham depart for the Big Ten's "champion of the west" in Ann Arbor — and take former BYU quarterback Jason Beck and former Utah cornerback Hill as his coordinators — the Cougars' roster remained relatively unscathed.

No team is immune from transfers in the current era of college football, and former BYU reserve linebacker Max Alford opted to join Hill, Whittingham and his uncle — Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford — in the Big Ten.

But the potential damage of the loss of a coordinator who led BYU to top-35 defenses in back-to-back seasons was about as light as all but the most optimistic Cougar supporter might have estimated.

For cornerback Evan Johnson, there's a key reason BYU was able to keep himself, safety Faletau Satuala, linebacker Isaiah Glasker, and the bulk of its roster after a 12-2 campaign — and his name is head coach Kalani Sitake.

"That's kind of just a testament of coach Kalani, of the culture and the brotherhood that we've built at BYU," Johnson said. "This is just a place that people want to be, and I feel like when you are part of that program and feel that love.

"When I was going through that time, people were reaching out to me and I felt that love," he added. "It was 100% where I wanted to be. I never had a doubt that I was going to be anywhere but BYU. I knew this is where I wanted to be."

'Straight love from the jump'

Johnson came to BYU in relative anonymity, a three-sport athlete at Stevenson High School in Monterey, California, who committed to the Cougars over interest from Arizona State, Boston College and Colorado, among others.

But as the 6-foot, 185-pound speedster thought of concluding his college career somewhere else — even at a Big Ten school with as many resources as anywhere in the country — he struggled to imagine it.

Johnson knew little of BYU or its sponsoring faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, before he arrived in Provo for the first time. But after 32 games 17 starts, seven interceptions and 17 passes defended, he determined there wasn't anywhere else he would rather be.

Certainly, the ability for athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness in the modern era of college football hangs over most offseasons. But Johnson says his relationship to BYU is about more than cash.

"When I got here, it was straight love from the jump," he said. "It was easy to give it back to BYU; they've poured so much into me, and gave me opportunities to be at the next level. When it was time to decide where I wanted to be, I already knew.

"I want to give back to them," he added.

Run it back

BYU ranked seventh nationally with 17 interceptions a year ago, including five by Johnson, and 19th in scoring defense allowing just 19.14 points per game.

The Cougars won 12 games with a 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl that ended with teammates hoisting Johnson on their shoulders in the end zone of Camping World Stadium in Orlando, and only lost to one opponent: Texas Tech, including a 34-7 defeat in the Big 12 championship game.

So all of the reasons to transfer to Michigan — to compete for conference championships, College Football Playoff berths, and even national titles — seemed rather moot for a BYU defense that was as close as any team not in last year's 12-team field to competing for a national title, rising senior senior safety Raider Damuni said.

"We know that we have the talent here," he said. "We can win games, we can make the Playoff, we believe we can win a national championship here; a lot of us being local kids, the opportunity to win at home is big."

The former Timpview High star even put a little extra emphasis on "at home." Of the 105 players on the Cougars' 105-man roster, 65 of them come from the Beehive State. Many of them grew up like Damuni, dreaming of playing for BYU like his father Jack before him.

Sitake was one of those same kids, a former young fan peering over the fences at then-Cougar Stadium who started at fullback from 1997-2000 long before signing a massive contract extension as head coach.

Damuni agreed with his defensive backfield teammate: critical to the Cougars' retention efforts this offseason was their head coach, and what the university represents.

"We love Coach Hill; he's one of the greatest leaders I've had as a defensive player," Damuni said. "But at the end of the day, I love this university and I think that's what everyone had in their mind, as well. We love the bond that we have, and the brotherhood we had as a team. … That's why we want to win here, and for this university."

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