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PROVO -- Rod Zundel sat down with BYU senior tight end Dennis Pitta for a one-on-one conversation. Pitta is from Moorpark, California in Ventura County, which is just north of Los Angeles.
Rod Zundel: So were you a city boy beach bum?
Dennis Pitta: We would frequent the beach. I wouldn't consider myself a beach bum. But we were about 20 minutes from the beach. You know I played a lot of basketball in the off season. Just recently picked up the game golf a little bit, which has been an interesting experience. It's a frustrating game especially when your just starting to learn, but it's something that I really enjoy doing and something that I'm trying to get better at.
Rod: Talk about your decision to come to BYU. Why did you make that choice?
Dennis: I think it was a pretty easy choice for me. I didn't have a whole lot of offers coming out of high school. I was kind of over looked as a skinny wide receiver out of Moorpark and so BYU was one of the schools that invited me to come and walk-on. Fortunately, and I took that chance. It was always a place that I wanted to be at because of my religious background and because this is an environment I wanted to be in. And so when they gave me that opportunity I jumped on it and was able to come here and do some good things with my career.
Rod: Did you think when you walked on and put the pads on for the first time a couple years later did you think you would be getting all the acclaim you are now?
Dennis: You know I was always confident in my abilities and regardless of what other people thought of me. I knew that I could do a lot of good things on the football field. I don't think I would have pictured myself being where I'm at now. Obviously its taken a lot of hard work and making the most of some opportunities. Your senior season is always a special season. It's going to be a special season for me. I'm going to try and stay healthy as best I can because it's not fun to be hurt. And it's not fun to have to play injured and not be able to help your team like the way you want to. My motto is look good and play good. I guess that's me ritual, trying to look good before I take the field.
Rod: Do you stand in front of the mirror and make sure everything is in place?
Dennis: I don't stand in front of the mirror, but make sure everything is in order and ready to go before I hit the field.
Bronco Mendenhall: I love Dennis Pitta. I like how he came to the program. He came as a walk on. He was just elected one of our captains. And Dennis has a quiet presence. He's very calm and very cool especially when pressure hits. He rarely shows emotion, it doesn't mean he doesn't have it. He's very competitive and very conscientious. The way he plays in terms of the detail and how he's reforming it matters a lot to him. But his presence and good nature exudes confidence. He's just a great young man to be around. And that he's emerged like he has and the way he's trained this summer. He's transformed his body, he weighs around 240 lbs. Now he's faster than he's been. He's a great young man.
