Darius Lassiter is in the last half of his last fight. When he takes the field in the second half of No. 17 BYU’s battle against No. 23 Colorado in Saturday’s Alamo Bowl, it will most likely mark the beginning of the end of the second half of his academic career.
Lassiter’s fight in the final minutes of the Houston game on Nov. 30 will keep him out of Saturday’s game (5:30 p.m., ABC) for the first two quarters. His loss is significant since he and teammate Chase Roberts generate most of BYU’s receiving yards (1,522) and touchdowns (eight).
“Things happen. I can’t dwell on something that happened three weeks ago,” said Lassiter, who vows to make up for his suspension by making big plays in the second half. “I’m left with everything a lot, because in the second half, I didn’t come out of the match.”
Lassiter has come a long way since his days playing at Butler Community College and Eastern Michigan.
Since arriving in Provo in 2023, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior has 72 receptions for 1,044 yards and eight touchdowns, including a dramatic game-winner against Oklahoma State.
“It’s been a blessing knowing where I was two years ago, in a place where I wasn’t very happy,” Lassiter said. “My ultimate goal was to be able to showcase my talents, but ultimately I achieved something bigger here. I started a family. I have brothers and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Lassiter co-starred and a majority of Jake RetzlaffIt’s okay with Roberts. The junior from American Fork caught 51 passes for 843 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season.
“I love his mentality. He’s always held me accountable, especially when I’m down on anything, film or whatever, Darius is always the one to say, ‘Hey, let’s step it up,'” Roberts said. “It’s good to have someone to compete with, especially when we’re both on the field at the same time and in practice and we want to make plays and be the guy. (Darius) has been a great role model for me and an asset to this team.
A big part of Kalani Sitake’s job as a head coach is determining which kids, whether coming from high school or the transfer portal, will be a good fit for his program. With Lassiter, he hit a home run.
“If you could be with him, you would see his positivity and how contagious his smile is,” Sitake said. “There’s a reason he was voted one of our co-captains. The team respects him. He was incredible for us.
Relegated to the role of cheerleader in the first half, Lassiter will be licking his lips for the third quarter against Colorado.
“I think it will depend on the whole group playing. We just have to play and make it easier for Jake,” Lassiter said. “(Colorado) has a lot of good talent on defense and we have a lot of good talent on offense. We played all year. This is not going to change now just because of the opponent we face.
This week’s ruling by the NCAA allowing an extra year of eligibility for former college transfers opens the door for Lassiter to consider returning to BYU next fall.
Dave McCann is a sports editor and columnist for the Deseret News, as well as a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar”, available on desertetbook.com.
