One of those coaches that Esukpa did call back was USC’s Clay Helton. Suiting up for the Trojans in his final season of college eligibility was enticing, Esukpa admits, but in the end the relationship he had already established with Steward carried the day.

“Coach AJ is the reason why I came here,” Esukpa said. “But I also bought into coach Grimes’ schemes and his philosophies and all that stuff. Also, Kalani (Sitake) is an amazing head coach. BYU was just a better fit for me as a player, and just as a person off the field.”

Still, turning down the cardinal and gold wasn’t easy. “They are a storied program, a legendary program,” Esukpa said. “They have had a lot of great running backs. Of course, it was hard to turn down, but I knew where my heart was at, which was at BYU.”