This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In my eight years of covering Bronco Mendenhall's BYU football teams, I can't remember the coach ever telling me that one of my questions was, well, unanswerable.

But that happened on Friday in new coach Kalani Sitake's first practice of 2016 preseason camp.

I asked the coach if BYU administrators had shared anything regarding Big 12 expansion that he could share with the media.

"Uh, don't ask those [questions]," Sitake said, smiling.

He went on to say that Big 12 questions should be reserved for athletic director Tom Holmoe.

"To be honest with you, as a head coach, talking about that right now, the Big 12, doesn't help our seniors and our team right now, but I am not going to sit here and pretend like it is not in there, in the background," Sitake said.

That said, Sitake acknowledged that Big 12 membership would make it easier for Holmoe to create yearly Power Five-type schedules.

"I know we have a great Power Five schedule right now and because of that, because of the independent deal, we are able to get these types of teams on the schedule, and I am thankful for that," Sitake said. "Obviously it is a lot harder as an independent organizing the schedule so it can be a Power Five type of schedule. I am thankful that Tom Holmoe has done that. He's done a great job getting our schedule ready.

Being in the Big 12 would make that a lot easier for him. But we've asked our players not to talk about it and just focus on the season, because we already have a schedule set right now and we are set for the 2016 season."

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Sitake and offensive coordinator Ty Detmer were the coaches made available to the media on Friday, and both said it was a typical first day of camp — plenty of passion and enthusiasm but lacking in execution.

Sitake is still trying to figure out which position groups he will focus on in practices outside of special teams.

"I will try to be as available as I can for everything. I will be involved heavily with special teams. Today I did some stuff with the linebackers. I will probably hang out with the backers quite a bit," he said. "They are one of our most experienced groups, so maybe I am just trying to pretend like I am a good coach and hang out with one of the most experienced and talented groups on the team. But I can go hang out with the quarterbacks, too.

But I dunno, I don't know if I will be able to give them as much teaching and as much learning as the linebackers can.

On both sides of the ball, we are on the same page as far as coordinators go and they know exactly what is happening, but I am definitely leaning toward the defense a little bit more."

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Much was made this morning by yours truly and other reporters about the surprisingly high number of players who were not on the roster released by BYU at the start of practice. Missing were starters such as Brad Wilcox, Kyle Johnson and Sione Takitaki and reserves such as Zac Dawe, Matt Foley and Va'a Niumatalolo.

In addition, BYU announced after practice that four guys — Bryan Sampson, Tyler Cook, Toloa'i Ho Ching and Steven Richards — are hanging it up for good due to medical issues.

Having heard from a couple sources that Takitaki will miss the entire season and take a redshirt year to get some personal issues cleared up, I asked Sitake whether any of the guys who are not on the roster now for sure won't be with BYU this season.

His answer: "It is too early for me to say that right now. We got the guys we started with today and we will see how it goes from there."

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At least one of the promising recruits that BYU signed in February, defensive lineman Keanu Saleapaga of Lakewood, Calif., and La Mirada High School, is not on the roster. The 6-6, 265-pound Saleapaga, recruiting enthusiasts might remember, picked BYU over Colorado after initially committing to USC.

As mentioned previously, Sitake declined to discuss individual cases and why they aren't on the roster, but he was asked if there are any newcomers that coaches are still working on to get enrolled and/or eligible.

"Gosh, that's a tough one," he said. "Well, it is one of those things, it is like, you always save some scholarships just in case something may happen down the line, or there is a transfer or whatever. We have some room right there, but I can't say that we are banking on anyone. We have our guys that are here, guys on the roster, and we are hoping to work through all that and trying to establish a travel squad of guys that we have now, and anything else makes it even sweeter. So I am looking forward to working with the guys we have right now, and hopefully we will get some of those other guys that are kinda on that list for different reasons back on the field."

All for now from Day I of camp. The Cougars are back at it Saturday morning, with more media availability to follow.