BYU QB Kedon Slovis Speaks On Wide Receiver Room, Goals For Next Season
Jan 19, 2023, 1:55 PM | Updated: Jan 20, 2023, 9:28 am
PROVO, Utah – In a recent interview, former USC and Pitt QB Kedon Slovis spoke on his aspirations as BYU’s next quarterback.
Slovis said that he’s ready to meet those goals alongside the guys in the Cougar’s receiver room too.
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“I think that’s the biggest thing about this receiver room,” said Slovis. “They’re really big, they’re really strong, they’re really physical. They make contested catches. I think, as a quarterback, that’s your best friend. When they can win some balls for you.”
Slovis and BYU’s offensive coordinator have a common goal for the upcoming college football season, a Big 12 Conference Championship.
“Another reason I transferred here instead of any other place was the excitement,” said Slovis. “(Aaron Roderick) said it himself. I want to play for a Big 12 championship. That’s the energy I want to play for because I want to do that too.”
Slovis was recently spotted at winter conditioning in the gym with some teammates and Cosmo.
Kedon Slovis’ arrival at BYU
Since getting in town, Slovis has already met most of his receiver teammates.
“I told them, ‘Hey when I go, we’re going. So be ready,” Slovis told KSL Sports on the message he’s shared with his BYU receiver teammates.
On January 9, he entered BYU’s Student Athlete Building for the first time since his on-campus visit to Provo in December, and he’s ready to get to work on filling the shoes left behind by Jaren Hall.
“We have some logistical, meeting, and medical stuff this week. But I’m pretty sure they will let me get on the practice field whenever I want,” Slovis said. “I’m actually going to go in the building [Monday] and meet with Coach (Aaron) Roderick and start learning some of the offense. And shoot, if [the receivers] want to throw [Monday], I’ll see if they’re available. We’ll see what our schedules look like on the first day of class.”
Slovis arrives at BYU after an up-and-down year at Pitt, where he had a career-low completion rate of 58.4% and QBR of 127.1. In his freshman year at USC in 2019, he completed a Pac-12 record, 71.9% of his passes.
Getting ready to work with BYU receivers
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound signal-caller is a believer in the regimen from Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow. In the offseason, Burrow throws 10,000 passes to his receivers. Slovis is looking to do that with his fellow BYU teammates.
“Definitely. That’s great to get that passing regimen down, but you really have to understand the offense as well as possible,” Slovis said. “I kind of look forward to having command of everything and knowing the offense. So to be able to kind of step in the situation and learn it in these next few weeks, it’s going to be really exciting.”
Along with Slovis learning a new offense, BYU is learning life as a Power Five program. The Cougars are set to go through their first year as a member of the Big 12 Conference this fall.
Year one of the Big 12 Conference
When Slovis first met Aaron Roderick face-to-face, it was during an in-home visit in Pittsburgh. Slovis was finishing up his fall semester class schedule in the Steel City. For the past decade, the goals of BYU football have often been in question. Because of BYU’s status as an FBS Independent. As the program prepares for the Big 12, that goal is no longer in question.
“A-Rod said it himself, he’s like, ‘I want to play for a Big 12 Championship.’ And that’s the energy I want to play for. I want to do that too, and that’s exciting,” said Slovis. “…This is a coaching staff and a group of players, I think, from what I’ve observed, that’s really hungry and knows this is a huge year for us.”
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.