Provo • There was a time in Kedon Slovis’ college career when a performance like Saturday’s would have been received differently.
It was an exact time, actually: 2019, USC vs. UCLA.
Slovis was a freshman back then starting for the Trojans. He threw for a program-record 515 yards and four touchdowns in a USC victory. But after the game, all fans could do was moan about how a win extended then-head coach Clay Helton’s tenure.
“We broke every offensive record ever, and they are still like, ‘Ah, another year of Coach Helton,’” Slovis remembered earlier this year. “Like really, dude?
“... There was always some negativity. It comes with the territory. But as a player, it is never fun to have your fanbase not want the situation you’re in to work out.”
Slovis doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. After he threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns against Southern Utah, BYU fans were all but begging for an encore.
They might need it, as Slovis accounted for 90% of the Cougars offense. But he doesn’t mind the extra responsibility — it beats the alternative.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun,” a rejuvenated Slovis said after a 41-16 win. “Coming off the football field, playing football with my friends. It sounds cliche, but this was really good.”
Forgive him for the cliches, because it’s been a winding path for him to get to this point. Slovis had to deal with the Helton era ending at USC and the troubles at Pitt.
For the last three years, he’s been looking for a place that would embrace him. Now he’s just happy he has it.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kalani Sitake and Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Kedon Slovis (10) as BYU hosts Southern Utah University, NCAA football in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
At USC, he admitted things got weird from the start. He knew Helton was on the hot seat when he arrived. But it took him by surprise the level of vitriol the fanbase had for him even as they went 8-4 his freshman year and 5-1 as a sophomore. He still “enjoyed all those times” at USC, but it was different.
“The wild thing was we would win games and people would be like, ‘Ah we won, but if we lost we might be able to fire coach,’” Slovis said.
By the third week of his junior season, the fanbase ultimately got its way. Helton was fired after a 42-28 loss to Stanford in Week 2. It left Slovis in limbo for the final 10 games of the season.
“It just made no sense to me,” he said.
It didn’t stop there. After Helton was gone, fans wanted something new at quarterback, too — namely Corner Canyon alum Jaxson Dart. With a new era, they wished for a long-term option at quarterback and Slovis was already a junior.
Eventually, Dart took over and Slovis was pushed out. He thought about turning pro. Fellow quarterback Sam Howell at North Carolina was declaring for the draft and he had an equally underwhelming final year. But Slovis wanted the chance to fulfill his college goal of finding the right fit.
“I wanted the same opportunity as everyone else,” Slovis said. “Your coach gets fired in Week 2, it’s like, ‘Well, I want the same opportunity that the other guys have to compete in that same category.’ I just wanted an opportunity to play football.”
So he went over to Pitt. The offense had just produced Kenny Pickett, a top NFL draft pick. It had the best receiver in the country with Jordan Addison. And it was a system that threw the ball a lot. Yet, after spring, Addison left for USC and his coordinator left, too.
“We ended 8-4. ... We had relative success,” Slovis said. “In terms of offensive output, I was pretty disappointed. I felt like we had more to offer. That was another thing, too, at the end of that situation I was like this isn’t really the situation I committed to.”
So he had the final choice. He could have declared for the draft and called it quits on college. Or he could try one last time to find the right fit.
He called former UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel for advice. His old high school coach Kurt Warner and several others weighed in, too.
And after hearing them out, he chose to give it a last chance at BYU.
And after Saturday, his second home game as the Cougars’ quarterback, the choice looked vindicated. He went around the stadium and signed footballs for young fans. People chanted his name as he went into the tunnel. The student section erupted when he was announced as the starter.
For the first time in a while, a program and a fanbase wanted him. And after he posted a 195 quarterback rating, it was pretty clear they needed him, too.
Slovis will gladly take both.
“It was really fun,” Slovis said. “I knew I had the opportunity in this offense [to play well]. I just want to thank [offensive coordinator Aaron] Roderick for the opportunity to come here and do that. I knew that’s the kind of offense I wanted to be part of, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
