The well-traveled Austin Kafentzis is slapping yet another sticker on his collegiate suitcase.
Speaking to the Deseret News, Kafentzis confirmed that he will be enrolling at BYU for the spring semester and continuing his playing career for the Cougars. The quarterback will be eligible to play immediately in 2017. Including this season, he has three years of eligibility at his disposal.
“Honestly, I was open to switching positions,” Kafentzis told the News. “It’s been a long two years, and I know I can play. I am itching to get on the field. I’m hungry to play. ...
“I told [head coach Kalani Sitake], ‘I’ll play special teams.’ And he said, ‘You’re crazy. You’re a quarterback. That’s where you’ll compete.’ So, we’ll go from there.”
Sophomore Tanner Mangum is the Cougars’ unquestioned starter at the position. Other scholarship quarterbacks include a pair of redshirt sophomores -- Koy Detmer Jr. and Beau Hoge.
A three-star 2015 recruit, Kafentzis was rated as the No. 16 dual-threat quarterback in the country and the No. 7 player at any position in the state of Utah. In May of 2015, shortly after Gary Andersen left UW for Oregon State, Kafentzis announced that he would be transferring from Wisconsin. A month later, after considering the Pac-12 OSU, he transferred to Nevada.
In July of last year, Kafentzis left the Wolf Pack as well, spending the 2016 season at the junior college level.