BYU land first commitment

BYU picked up their first commitment of the year from Provo (Utah) Timpview athlete Stephen Covey. Covey, 5-11, 170 pounds actually announced for the Cougars at their football camp way back in the summer.

In the Student Sports magazine football preview that came out in the summer, Covey was spotlighted in the Western region notebook. Here's a look at the article as written by SS editor Mark Tennis.

When your name is Stephen Covey and you?re a quarterback, you better be a good leader. But that?s not the only trait of which the senior quarterback from Timpview High of Provo, Utah, is known.

Covey also can run and pass and last season was named co-MVP of the Class 4A ranks in Utah by the Deseret News after he passed for more than 1,700 yards, rushed for just over 1,000 yards and led Timpview to an 11-2 season.

Stephen is the grandson of Stephen R. Covey, the internationally acclaimed author of numerous books on leadership principles and time management. His book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," was first published in 1990 and has sold more than 10 million copies. Stephen?s father, Stephen M.R. Covey, is the oldest son of Stephen R. Covey and Stephen is the fourth-oldest of the Covey grandchildren.

"The most important thing I?ve learned from my grandfather is just trusting other people," Covey said. "Real trust between you and your teammates is a big thing to have. They?ll respect you if you have respect to give to them."

As for having the same name as one of the most famous people in the business world, Covey added, "It?s cool most of the time. It get a lot of people jokingly asking me if I wrote the book. Sometimes, it gets old. But I don?t mind."

Covey, a 5-11, 170-pounder, is hoping this will be the year that Timpview can finally win a Class 4A state title that has proven to be very elusive. The T-Birds were considered a favorite for that crown two years ago, were one of the favorites last year, but have suffered losses in the finals and semifinals.

"We?re now back together after a lot of the kids on the team were gone on family vacations," Covey said. "Everyone seems to be a lot more committed this year. Everyone wants to work hard. We definitely don?t want to fall short again."

Making that task easier is that most of the rest of the offense from last year?s team is also back. Another plus is the return of 6-5, 270-pound lineman Matt Reynolds, who is the team?s top college prospect. Covey always seemed destined to play for the Cougars. His father was a walk-on for BYU and played in some JV games before going on his Mormon mission. His uncle, Sean Covey, also is a former Cougar quarterback who had a promising career cut short by a knee injury.

Stephen has two younger brothers and two younger sisters himself and his ability to set a good example has been honed from being in a very large family. His mother, Jeri, also comes from a large family, so with his father being the oldest of nine, Stephen counted 75 first cousins between both sides of his family "with one on the way."

"Yes, they totally comprise a rooting section all for themselves," Stephen said. "But it is amazing how they all support me. And at family parties, there will be 30 or 40 cousins there. Mostly, they are age 10 or younger, so it is mostly out of control with adults just chasing kids all over the place."

Funny, that?s sort of what opposing defenders are doing when Stephen is playing quarterback: chasing him all over the place.

?Mark Tennis