Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
PROVO — BYU football is approaching the bye week on a five-game winning streak, a No. 17 national ranking by the Associated Press, and plenty of good vibes after surpassing its Las Vegas-projected win total of 4.5 for the season a month into the 2024 season.
One player that will be out for an extended period of time is starting center Connor Pay.
Head coach Kalani Sitake said the 6-foot-5, 315-pound staple of the offensive line would be out of a significant period of time with a foot injury suffered early in the Cougars' most recent game.
The coach added that it was "highly doubtful" Pay would return immediately following the upcoming bye week, when BYU hosts Arizona at LaVell Edwards Stadium (2 p.m. MDT, FOX).
"Fortunately, none of the injuries are season-ending," Sitake said. "Some of them will take some time. ... But I like the way the guys filled in for Connor, specifically. He's still the team captain, and he'll have to lead us. He did that for us during the game, and he'll continue to do that for us now as a team captain."
The BYU head coach added that the running back group — including LJ Martin, Folau Ropati and breakout freshman Sione I. Moa — should be at "full strength" against the Wildcats.
On Tuesday, Pay shared a little more about his injury and forthcoming recovery.
The senior offensive lineman revealed on the "Locked on Cougars" podcast that he suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during Saturday's 34-28 win over Baylor that kept him sidelined for the entire second half.
"It's something I've done before, on my other foot, in high school," he said. "So I know the surgery and the recovery process very well; I'm comfortable with it."
Pay said he'll have surgery this week to put a screw in the fifth metatarsal, one of the five bones in the mid-foot that connects the tarsals (heel and ankle) to the phalanges (toes), and that a "six-week recovery is the goal."
That will put the former Lone Peak star's return around the Cougars' rivalry tilt Nov. 9 at Utah.
"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I'm back for that Utah game," Pay said. "Obviously, everyone is familiar with Jones' fractures, and having a screw put in your fifth metatarsal, a lot has to do with how well the screw seeds with your bone and how well it grabs on, and how well the four corners of that fracture heals.
"I'll have another set of X-rays in four weeks, and if it looks good and all four corners are attaching to that screw ... once that screw attaches, you can progress really fast. I'm hoping at that set of X-rays, that everything looks good. If I need more time, they might bump it to seven or possibly eight weeks. But as of right now, the goal is six weeks and trying to get back before the Utah game."
Pay also confirmed an anecdote that first spread through social media about his recovery following the injury. His parents Jeana and Garry, a former BYU offensive lineman, were watching their son play at McLane Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
After the game, they rushed to try to make it to the field, and — with help from BYU deputy athletic director Brian Santiago — were pulled toward the locker room area in Waco, Texas, according to multiple sources who were in the stands.
Also on hand was Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"A lot of the details, for obvious reasons for those who are members of the church, I want to keep to myself; it was a pretty sacred experience," Pay said. "But Elder Rasband and I have ironically become pretty good friends over the last few months. We've had lunch on a few experiences to talk about BYU and all this.
"He's in charge of seeing the progression of BYU and BYU athletics, and so we've had a lot of conversations on ways we think BYU can improve, but he's kind of become more of a friend. When I heard that he was flying to the game, I was excited. .... When it happened, I had the impression that it would be appropriate for me to ask him for a blessing."
Pay approached the team's operations and logistics staff, who worked as a liaison with Elder Rasband and his security team.
"They said, it's funny, because Elder Rasband had an impression to give you a blessing, too," Pay said. "I'm more than grateful that he was able to do that. It was pretty cool to have my dad anoint me with oil and to have Elder Rasband seal that anointing. He had some special people standing in that circle. ... He had me invited anyone I wanted to be in the circle, so it was him, my dad, Kalani, President (C. Shane Reese, BYU president) and Keith Vorkink (BYU vice president for advancement); some of the men that I really respect as leaders of the university, as worthy Priesthood holders, and as friends.
"In reflecting on that experience ... it just makes me really grateful that I chose to come to BYU. That opportunity would have never come if I had gone somewhere else. Obviously, I didn't foresee this happening; one of the things I've prided myself on in my career is my durability. ... This was the last thing I was expecting, but for BYU football to have provided that connection between Elder Rasband and me was a really special experience. For me, it's a major selling point for the high-profile LDS athletes in high school who are trying to make their college decision."
Listen to Pay share his full story in the YouTube video below:
