BYU’s new tight ends coach announces his return to…

Kevin Gilbride discusses his return to Provo, winning a Super Bowl ring, and the struggle for QB1.

Kevin Gilbride last represented the Y at LaVell Edwards Stadium 26 years ago. Back then, he was a confident three-sport high school standout from Jacksonville, Florida, and his father (Kevin) was the San Diego Chargers’ head coach. Gilbride arrived intending to play both football and baseball at BYU.

The Cougars quarterback room was already full with Kevin Feterik, Bret Engemann, and Brandon Doman ahead of him on the depth chart, thus Gilbride chose to redshirt in 1998. The next year, at the spring game, he got closest to taking a real photo inside the stadium.

Seeing a restricted future, Gilbride pursued his dual-sport goal in Hawaii, where Timmy Chang had dominated the quarterback market for the Warriors. As a result, Gilbride spent the remainder of his undergraduate years playing outfield for the UH baseball team.

A lot has changed since then. In January, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake summoned Gilbride back to Provo to teach the Cougars’ tight ends. Gilbride brings 20 years of coaching experience, including 12 seasons in the NFL and 12 critical months at BYU.

“Night and day,” Gilbride said on the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week, comparing 1998 to 2024. “The character of people has always been high level here, but the people our players are around each day, whether it’s the strength staff, academic staff, the sports science department, the nutrition, the locker room, the equipment — it’s night and day — and we had it pretty good in 1998.”

Night and day

When compared to previous achievements, the tight end’s production may be described as night and day. Clay Brown, Gordon Hudson, Chad Lewis, Chris Smith, Jonny Harline, Dennis Pitta, Isaac Rex, and many others helped to establish the reputation that Gilbride is now tasked with restoring.

Rex concluded his BYU career last year as the all-time touchdown leader among tight ends, with 24. He surpassed Hudson’s Hall of Fame stats with a 26-yard catch against Iowa State, but a fractured ankle suffered at USC late in 2021 restricted his mobility and production in 2022 and 2023.

While Gilbride respects BYU’s storied legacy at the position, it is his responsibility to shape the future with a new generation of contenders capable of regaining play-calling confidence from offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.

“We’ve got some players that can spread the field and make plays. “We have some players who can create separation and make plays,” Gilbride said. “We have some guys who can be dominant in blocking, and we have some guys who are really getting there.”

Keanu Hill, a 6-4, 235-pound converted receiver and graduate student, leads a group that includes a few individuals of similar size, including Ryner Swanson (Freshman), Jackson Bowers (RS-Freshman), Ray Paulo (Senior), and Ethan Erickson (Junior).

“My view is as many tight ends as we can get on the field the better because it keeps the defense in check,” Gilbride told ESPN. “Because of our versatility at tight end, the defenders will have no idea what we’re going to do. We can separate those guys at receiver, get their hands in the mud, and have them in the backfield.”

The quarterbacks

The performance of quarterbacks Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon, who are competing for the starting job, will determine whether BYU’s tight end productivity returns to its historic levels.

Retzlaff, a junior, gained valuable experience last season but went 0-4 as the starter in BYU’s final four games. Bohanon, a graduate transfer, missed 2023 at South Florida after shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Bohanon won the Big 12 championship while healthy and starting for Baylor in 2021.

“I believe they are both practicing at an extremely high level right now. “It will be a difficult competition for both of them,” Gilbride added. “But when push comes to shove, the best player is going to play and the fact that they are pushing each other the way they are, I think whoever that player ends up being is going to be pretty special.”

Recruiting to BYU

Gilbride spent last year as an offensive analyst at UNC Charlotte, following his 12-year career in the NFL. A return to BYU necessitated a return to recruiting, which he had not done since serving as receivers coach at Temple in 2009.

“It is always challenging. You are competing with other quality institutions, but we have such a product at BYU, as well as the culture that Coach Kalani continues to create on a daily basis, which we demonstrate to recruits,” Gilbride stated. “We try to give them a picture of who we are and what we can bring to the table, and they make up their minds.”

Sitake has frequently maintained that BYU’s church sponsorship and honor code are selling factors for the football program, rather than barriers. Gilbride agrees.

“We want every recruit to understand this is who we are. It’s a special spot. “Whether it’s for you or not, you decide,” he said. “We’ll show you everything we can do for you in helping you develop and being part of a family culture and you decide whether you want to be a part of it or not.”

Last week, the Cougars earned two three-star commits to play tight end: Tucker Kelleher and Jackson Doman. Both will be members of BYU’s 2025 recruiting class.

Super Bowl ring

Gilbride brings more than just coaching expertise at BYU; he is the only coach on the staff with a Super Bowl ring. His father was the Giants’ offensive coordinator when New York defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots 21-17 in 2012. Gilbride was the quality control coach and managed the game from the press box.

His Super Bowl ring did not stand out much.

“It’s great and beautiful and I’m very proud of the accomplishment, but I’m also scared something is going to happen to the ring if I wear it around everywhere,” he told me. “I wore it once, to a friend’s wedding, because he requested it. I’ve had a handful of requests from the guys in the tight ends room.

Opening night

When Gilbride leaves the LES locker room and onto the field on August 31, he will have completed a full circle from where it all began to where it all begins again. He’s no longer a hot shot from the Sunshine State, but rather a journeyman, husband, and father who expects to stay in Provo for much longer this time.

Summer training and fall camp, which begins on July 30, are scheduled ahead of time. Focusing on opening night against Southern Illinois can wait.

“I’m not very eager (for Aug. 31) because there is a lot of work to be done,” she remarked. “I don’t want to rush anything. I want to make sure we’re ready to go, and there’s a lot of execution that needs to happen first. Not eager, but excited? Yes!”