alt=Dick HarmonPROVO — His father played in a different era and is now paying the price.
The son just wants a chance to start and is paying any price required.
Payton Wilgar is fighting to replace the talented Sione Takitaki as middle linebacker in BYU’s 2019 defense and if any of his father’s DNA rises to the surface, he’ll be a hard-hitting, smart defensive player for the Cougars.
His father, Dana Wilgar, was a headhunter on one of LaVell Edwards’ first teams as head coach at BYU and he helped lead the Cougars to their first two bowl games, the 1974 Fiesta Bowl and 1976 Tangerine Bowl. His teammates were Todd Christensen, Brian Billick and quarterback Gary Sheide.
Today, Payton Wilgar is taught to tackle with safety restraints. Back in his day, his father was told to lead with his head, stick his noggin where it did the most damage and let the consequences follow.
“He’s doing real well. He’s got all the ability that he needs, he has talent and he’s really got good size. I just think he’s gonna do real well, no matter where they put him.” — Dana Wilger, on his son Payton Wilger
“Many times I saw stars and forgot where I was for a few plays,” said Dana Wilgar, who was recruited by Edwards out of Clark High School in Las Vegas and has lived in St. George and Parowan. He is now staying with another son in Seattle for a few weeks.
Dana Wilgar has been on disability for five years. He has sudden seizures and is seeing a neurologist. “I’m thinking his condition came from football,” said Payton Wilgar. Another teammate on that defense, linebacker Larry Carr, has filed several lawsuits regarding problems he’s had from multiple concussions incurred during his playing days.
A year ago, Payton Wilgar was a preferred walk-on at BYU after playing safety and linebacker at Dixie High School, but he was awarded a scholarship last spring and suddenly became a factor in competition for playing time at Mike linebacker and has played a little outside linebacker. At times, he played with the first defense in fall camp.
“I learned a lot about the game from my dad and my four brothers who all played. That helped me not only see things and understand the game, but adjust to how physical it can be,” said Payton Wilgar.
As his former teammates will tell you, Dana Wilgar was a hard hitter and knew where to go on the field as strong safety in the Cougar secondary. He earned All-WAC honors twice and was Honorable Mention All-America. He had 280 tackles and eight interceptions in his BYU career. He later settled down in Las Vegas and worked construction.
His former secondary mates included Carr, Mitch Jensen of the Siegfried & Jensen law firm, Blake Murdock of the Murdock auto group, Craig Jensen, Sid Smith, Dave Atkinson and Gary Shaw — now father-in-law to former BYU quarterback Jake Heaps.
“Dana came in as a freshman and he could really close,” Mitch Jensen said. “He could read the play early and close on it like right now. He had good coverage skills and had a good sense of football and what was coming.”
Jensen said during that era, defenders were taught to lead with their head and they hit hard. As a defensive back, they wanted people who wanted to hit anybody.
“We were small back there compared to the big linemen that were setting up a screen or whatever,” he said. “And when it was time, you had to take those guys out even if it is a big mismatch, a guy weighing 175 going against somebody 300 pounds.”
Murdock said he remembers Dana as a hitter. “He was the hardest hitting guy. He was just amazing. When he hit them, they were in trouble.”
Chuck Carlson, the center on BYU’s team at the time, agreed.
“When he hit somebody, it was always right in front, right in their face, never to the side,” Carlson said. “He was awesome.”
Dana Wilgar believes he was lucky and has been blessed, but he could have done things different in college and made more of the experience. When he returned to Las Vegas, he joined a brother-in-law in construction and became a foreman. He had his share of mishaps and had to make some major adjustments that included a divorce. He met and married his current wife Misti in Parowan and is enjoying life. “I’ve been with Misti 25 years. I went back to school and got my degree at Southern Utah because I didn’t get finished at BYU,” Dana Wilgar said.
“I still remember when coach Edwards recruited me and visited our home. We were so impressed with him. He was the reason I came to BYU.”
Dana Wilgar played very well against Iowa State in 1974. “And from there, it was just kind of history. I wish I had done that a little differently, worked out a little bit more and gone to class a little bit more. You know, all those things that you regret later in life.”
Back in those days, BYU played a junior varsity schedule and that’s where Dana Wilgar turned some heads. “After one of those games, Dick Felt, our secondary coach, came up to me and told me I’d start the next game against Iowa State.”
He played his way into stardom.
Now, physical issues have caught up with Dana Wilgar.
“They don’t know what it is, but I have these seizures,” he said. “I have an appointment to see a neurologist and have some tests.”
Payton Wilgar said he always wanted to go to BYU because of his dad, but after attending school last fall as a walk-on, he got discouraged and wanted to transfer where there were more opportunities. He was short on money, paying his own way. By winter semester after he’d left BYU, a truckload of players were either asked to leave or had put their names in the transfer portal and that opened up a scholarship.
Payton Wilgar was too late to enroll in winter semester and attend spring practice to get a jump on the linebacker competition, but he did enroll in spring and summer semester in preparation for fall.
“He’s doing real well,” said Dana Wilgar. “He’s got all the ability that he needs, he has talent and he’s really got good size. I just think he’s gonna do real well, no matter where they put him.”
Payton Wilgar fits into a BYU strategy to recruit a pool of preferred walk-ons and develop them as a supplement to signed recruits on letter of intent signing day. It is about focusing more on potential and measurables than who has made offers or star ratings. He played basketball at Dixie High also and was known as a versatile athlete.
“His first love has always been football,” said Dana Wilgar. “He had the game-winning interception in the state championship game.”
The Wilgar connection.
It’s a legacy hook up now.