Mark Philbrick
When BYU’s 1996 football team reunites to ‘Light the Y’ prior to Saturday night’s game against Kansas State, it will be like a classic rock band getting back together. Time and events may have scattered the roster, but once back on the field together, it will be as if they never left.
“We had great camaraderie back then and we still have great camaraderie now,” former All-American tight end Chad Lewis told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. The 1996 Cougars, who went 14-1 and defeated Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, will be recognized as part of BYU’s season-long celebration commemorating its 100 years of football.
In all those years, no Cougars team won more games than the boys of ′96.
“We were talented at every spot. We had great competition at every practice. We were all fighting to get on the field,” Lewis said. “At the tight end spot, there was me and Itula Mili. We loved each other and were both fighting to get balls — and we had a blast doing it.”
BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian celebrates Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State. | Gary M. McKellar, Deseret News
Both Lewis and Mili went on to play nine seasons in the NFL and the BYU quarterback who helped get them there, is currently the head coach at No. 1 Texas. Understandably, Steve Sarkisian won’t be at Saturday’s reunion due to the Longhorns’ date with UL Monroe, but his 4,321 passing yards and 35 touchdowns in 1996 are etched in BYU’s history book as one of the greatest performances of all time.
“We went on a heck of a run and a really cool journey together, culminating in Dallas winning the Cotton Bowl,” Sarkisian told BYUtv at the 2023 Big 12 Media Days. “That was a tight-knit group. There may have been more talented BYU teams, but I don’t know if there has been one that was as…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/chad-lewis-reveals-storied-gems-030000064.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-09-20 03:00:00
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