Story thread · 3 reports / 2 sources

When LaVell Edwards invested in Kalani Sitake’s life, he changed it forever

deseret.com · 1h · first reportShare

Editor’s note: First in an occasional series exploring LaVell Edwards’ legacy of leadership. Getting called into LaVell Edwards ’ office meant a handful of Lemonheads and some one-on-one time with the BYU head coach. For freshman fullback Kalani Sitake , he couldn’t wait to sit down with the man he’d dreamed of playing for since his childhood. Adding some sweetness to the visit was the fact that BYU had just upset No. 17 Notre Dame 21-14 in South Bend in a game where Sitake’s blocking prowess opened paths for tailback Jamal Willis all afternoon. “I’m really excited and I go sit down with him and we just start talking about my family instead of football,” Sitake said. “He asks about my brothers and sisters and my dad, being a single father and things like that, and he says, ‘Oh, I think you are doing a great job playing for us and we appreciate that.’” Then Edwards turned the conversation. “You know,” the coach said, “you would be a really good missionary,” Sitake recalled. Sitake sat s