‘Fully bought-in’: How Isaiah Jatta left Coach Prime’s program at Colorado and found a home at BYU

As BYU’s spring football camp was winding down about five months ago, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Snow College and Colorado transfer Isaiah Jatta had earned the starting left tackle spot on the Cougars’ offensive line in 2025.

That statement in late March wasn’t received with a lot of attention and fanfare, but to the 6-foot-6, 315-pound Jatta, it meant everything.

“It was kinda like validation for a lot of hard work,” Jatta told the Deseret News last week. “After last season, I had a good talk with coach Kalani (Sitake), and he told me to be ready and good things would happen, and to trust the process and when the time is right, that trust would be rewarded. And it has been.”

Jatta made a couple starts at right tackle last year against Kansas and Arizona State after Brayden Keim got hurt in the Utah game, and showed well. He didn’t get a chance to play against his former school, Colorado, in the Alamo Bowl because he was nursing a left foot injury.

He is 100% healthy now, and ready to make his second and final season in Provo a memorable one. Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry is projected to be the starting right tackle, giving BYU one of the better tackle tandems in the Big 12.

“I am fully bought-in to the team chemistry and camaraderie and all that, all those things,” Jatta said. “I’ve found a good home here and I am really enjoying it.”

Offensive line coach TJ Woods said he is “pleased” with where Jatta is at, and in the San Diego native’s work ethic and drive to improve.

“We have several guys like (Jatta) who played snaps last year or started games and performed well, so that’s encouraging,” Woods said. “But the real challenge for all those guys is being consistent. Not just having one good start, having 12 good starts, and the consistency piece has been really our main focus all offseason.”

In all, Jatta played in 88 pass-blocking plays last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He did not give up a sack, but did allow six quarterback pressures/hits. Jatta was rated 63.6 by PFF in run blocking, ahead of the man he is replacing at left tackle, Caleb Etienne (59.9).

“Any time you get to touch the field in a game setting in front of that many fans is awesome, especially playing an offensive line position,” Jatta said. “I got into some away games, and I just built confidence to come back and dominate this year.”

Culture shock: From San Diego to Ephraim

Jatta grew up in Southern California dreaming of playing in the NFL even though his uncle, Chris Sandle, was a famous basketball player. However, Sandle, who was a McDonald’s All-American at Poly High in Long Beach, California, and later starred at Arizona State and UTEP, died in 2010 at the age of 44.

Sandle was also 6-foot-6, but not nearly as sturdy as Jatta.

After graduating from Helix High in La Mesa, California, Jatta ended up at Snow College, and helped the Badgers go 15-4 in his two seasons in Ephraim under coach Zac Erekson, a former BYU receiver.

“Coming out to Ephraim was kind of like a shock to me, a little bit,” he said. “I come from San Diego, where there are millions of people, so that wasn’t ideal, switching to that. They only had a Walmart, a McDonald’s and a Maverik out there. But I got used to it.”

On the field, he flourished, earning NJCAA first-team All-American honors in 2022 and becoming one of the most-recruited players in the junior college ranks.

Then it was off to Colorado, where Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was rebuilding the Buffaloes. He appeared in 11 games for CU, and started in a 28-16 loss to UCLA. He wasn’t happy, though, and entered the transfer portal shortly after the season ended.

“I just needed a fresh start,” he said. “At Colorado, I wasn’t too happy outside of football. I knew that there was another school out there where I could fit in a lot better. I had a lot of connections here at BYU, through coach Erekson and (former Cougar defensive back) Tanner Jacobson and people like that.”

Having recruited Jatta when he was at Snow College, BYU coaches quickly jumped at the chance to re-recruit the big guy and beat out USC, San Diego State and others for his services.

“Coming to BYU just made it easier for me because it was a place where I could trust the coaches fully and buy into their process and their culture,” Jatta said. “There is a different culture and vibe here, obviously.”

‘Hit me up’: Jatta wants a part-time job

Jatta left Boulder with a degree in sociology and a “better perspective” on what he wants to do with his life if football doesn’t immediately work out. He would like to work in the mental health field — something related to sports, if possible — and has been working on an advanced degree at BYU while trying to find internships in that field.

“If anyone is looking to put me to work, yeah, hit me up,” he said. “Just helping out with children, that’s most definitely what I want to do.”

Although he is not a member of the faith that sponsors BYU, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jatta said the school’s strict standards via the honor code has never been a concern for him.

“The rules are most definitely a lot different from other schools. I just felt like I was in a spot where I needed to just lock back in and focus, which is one of the reasons why I came here,” he said. “I had already experienced Utah, and Snow College, and gone through that culture shock. I was prepared for it.

“At the end of the day, all I had were my friends, football and school. My relationship with God is really strong. Coming to BYU, it is evident that everyone’s faith is pretty strong, especially at this school. I mean, it’s just one of many blessings that have come upon me so far.”