When junior tight end Harrison Handley was younger, he use to always cheer for Brigham Young University just because his dad use to play there.
“Honestly though, I wasn’t a die-hard fan,” Handley said. “I would just go to the games because it was a football game to go to.”
When making his decision on where to go to school, Handley said the fact that his dad played for BYU didn’t impact his decision, adding that his dad supported his recruiting and where he decided to go.
“He just wanted me to make my decision for me and wanted me to really explore where I wanted to go so my dad was really cool about not pushing me one way or another,” Handley said. “I am really blessed to have a dad like that.”
Handley took a recruiting trip to BYU while he was in high school, but said that he is definitely a Ute through and through now, and he even got his dad to cheer for Utah as well.
“[My dad] is definitely a Ute right now,” Handley said. “It’s all Utah. I got him wearing the red. I’ve converted most of the family over, but I’m still working on a few. When I chose to go to Utah, everyone in my family started wearing red and going to the Utah games and cheering me on in the stands. I’m really blessed with a really supportive family.”
Harrison’s mom, Laura, said that while her husband will always be a BYU fan, ever since Harrison went to the U, her husband switched over to Utah, buying all the Utah gear and going to all of Harrison’s games.
“We are all just excited to be Utah fans,” Laura said. “His dad didn’t hesitate for one second to be a Utah fan.”
While Handley dad’s went to BYU, his mom graduated from Utah. When Harrison decided to go to Utah, Laura thought it was great, adding that she was excited for him to be recruited and to be taking that next step and going to college.
“When [Harrison] was being recruited, [my husband and I] just told him that he had to make that decision and choose the school that would be the best path for him so I was fine with whatever decision his would have made,” Laura said. “He made the decision that he thought was best for him and it turned out to be a really great thing.”
Now the Harrison is a Ute, he said what he really likes about the team is how much of a family it is. No matter who you are, where you are, or where you are from, when you join the Utah team, you are a part of the family, according to Harrison.
“Everyone has everyone’s back and everyone will do whatever we can to help another teammate,” Harrison said. “That’s what it really is for me is how big of a family it is here.”
Because of how much of a family the football team is, it was one of the reasons why Harrison chose to play for Utah, but also said that another reason was because of how the coaches treated the players, adding that the coaches don’t see the players as a piece of meat playing for them.
“It is really just a kind of a respect thing and just being up here and seeing all of the guys and how much of a family it is,” Harrison said. “That really what it is up here is a family and the respect from the coaches.”
After a two year break, Harrison and his team will take on BYU in the Rice-Eccles Stadium this Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff begins at 5:30 p.m.
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