Darius Lassiter feels like he was just starting to hit his stride in the BYU offense, poised to become Kedon Slovis’ go-to receiver as the Cougars traveled to Texas on Oct. 28.
The previous week, the junior from Chandler, Arizona, by way of Butler (Kansas) Community College and Eastern Michigan University, had made a spectacular one-handed catch for 31 yards in BYU’s 27-14 win over Texas Tech, a catch that made ESPN “SportsCenter’s” No. 3 play of the day.
“I talked to a couple guys from the OU staff who said that was a challenge last week, having to put in two different game plans, for two different QBs. So we are going to try to keep them guessing this week.” — BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick on not naming a starting QB for the OSU game
“I was feeling really good about things,” he said. “I was on a steady upward trend, it felt like.”
But at some point in the Texas game, an eventual 35-6 loss that sent BYU’s season spiraling downward, Lassiter suffered a knee injury. He’s not exactly sure when, or how, it happened, and he finished the game with five catches for 75 yards. It wasn’t until an MRI two days later revealed a lateral collateral ligament tear, an injury that would keep him out of the Cougars’ next two games, losses to West Virginia and Iowa State.
He returned last week and got limited reps in BYU’s 31-24 loss to No. 14 Oklahoma, making one catch for 18 yards.
“There was one play (against Texas) where I kinda got up funky, but I didn’t really feel it at the time, because there was so much adrenaline,” Lassiter said. “I was kinda surprised I was able to finish the whole game. I came in Monday for treatment and told them I was having some (problems) with it and they just thought it was best for me to get an MRI. And once they looked at it, it was a torn LCL.”
Slovis was also injured in the Texas game, suffering an elbow injury.
It was a double-whammy for BYU’s offense, which didn’t really recover until last week’s game against OU, when it put up 390 yards with Jake Retzlaff at the helm, but committed three costly turnovers.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Tuesday that BYU won’t announce who will start at quarterback — Retzlaff or Slovis — in Saturday’s regular-season finale at Oklahoma State (1:30 p.m. MST, ABC) in Stillwater because coaches want the Cowboys to have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, much as OU had to do last week.
“I talked to a couple guys from the OU staff who said that was a challenge last week, having to put in two different game plans, for two different QBs,” Roderick said. “So we are going to try to keep them guessing this week.”
There will be no mystery surrounding Lassiter’s status. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder said he’s fully cleared, isn’t on a pitch count, and is ready to go — albeit with a knee brace he will wear the remainder of the season.
“I can do as much as coach (Fesi Sitake) needs me to do,” Lassiter said. “No matter whether that be 50 reps or 12, I am going to be ready for them.”
Because he missed two games, Lassiter said it is “extra-important” to him to help the Cougars win and become bowl eligible, so he can display his talents at least one more time this season. In nine games, he’s caught 29 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns.
Although Lassiter says he is “feeling good,” other offensive players aren’t as fortunate, which seems to be par for the course for the Cougars in their first season in the Big 12. As soon as they get one guy back, another goes down.
Neither Retzlaff nor Slovis have had a full complement of offensive weapons for a single game the entire season.
“We are a little bit beat up, yeah,” Roderick said. “A couple of guys are iffy this week. I can’t talk about who, but yeah, we are a little bit banged up. It was a physical game.”
When Lassiter spoke to the Deseret News a couple weeks into the season, he said he was fairly certain that he would return to the team in 2024 because he’s got another season of eligibility left.
On Tuesday, however, he wasn’t ready to fully commit to anything regarding his future.
He was on the original list of BYU “seniors” slated to go through Senior Day ceremonies after the Oklahoma game, but after talks with coach Kalani SItake and receivers coach Fesi Sitake, he decided to not go through the ceremonies.
One reason is that his mother couldn’t make it because she was at the Kansas-Kansas State game to support Lassiter’s brother, Kwinton.
“And the second reason is I may be coming back next year,” Lassiter said. “There is no timeline (to decide), but I am definitely open to coming back and things like that. Right now, my main focus is winning this week so we can be able to go bowling.”
The receiver said the only other option would be to declare for the NFL draft.
“BYU is my last school,” he said, noting that he will graduate in the spring with a degree in geography. “This is the last stop for me.”
