Ever since head coach Kyle Whittingham first hired Kalani Sitake onto the Utah coaching staff, Sitake has been one of his closest friends.
Sitake started out by coaching the linebackers for Utah in 2005, and he was eventually promoted to Defensive Coordinator for the 2009 season.
Sitake left the Utah program after the 2014 season, and he took over as assistant head coach and Defensive Coordinator at Oregon State. Then, with the leaving of long-time BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall, Sitake was hired to fill his place. However, even though Sitake now coaches at Utah’s rival school, Whittingham says this does not have any impact on their friendship.
“We went golfing a couple of times this summer together,” Whittingham said. “I have the upmost respect for him. The friendship is solid and I expect it to continue.”
So while Sitake has crossed that red and blue border a couple of times, Whittingham made the switch once, and he has remained true to the U ever since.
“I only did [the switch] one time, and it was back when my father was already on staff [at Utah], so I had already made that transition,” Whittingham said. “Blood is thicker than water. [My father] was named Defensive Coordinator, and my allegiance was with him.”
As the head coaches battled it out on the sidelines, senior defensive end Hunter Dimick battled on the field against his friend, Kavika Fonua, and he said that although there might be some extra trash talk, their friendship won’t affect the game, and the players are focused on what is ahead of them.
“Relationships will take a step down until after,” Dimick said before Saturday’s game. “When we get to go over and shake hands, we will talk about it, but there is no difference for now.”
Dimick added that even though Whittingham and Sitake have a great relationship and the two schools are in different conferences, the hatred with the rivalry has not lessened.
“Personally, I feel like it is as heated as it has ever been,” Dimick said. “From my experience, every year has been the exact same as far as the emotion and the anticipation. You guys don’t hear or see what goes on the field and under the piles, and it is nasty.”
Though Dimick feels the rivalry can get intense, the teams do have a certain amount of respect for each other. But when it comes down to it, both teams are playing to win.
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