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When Bronco Mendenhall left to take the Virginia job, he took the bulk of BYU's assistant coaches with him. But not everybody left for Charlottesville, including BYU wide receivers coach Guy Holliday, and with a new head coach coming in his future in Provo seemed to be in doubt.
Now, Holliday's future will be in Utah, but not in Provo, as the former Cougar coach will be joining the Utes to replace Taylor Subblefield, per BYU alum Hans Olsen of The Zone radio in Salt Lake City.
Guy Holiday will take over as WR coach at the U of U. Not sure when the official announcement will be made, but it's a done deal.
— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) January 6, 2016
The report follows a day or so of speculation after Holliday was spotted making new follows of Utah Athletics, Kyle Whittingham, Fred Whitthingham Jr. and a handful of Ute fans on Twitter.
Sports Illustrated confirmed the reports today.
RELATED: BYU football coaching staff tracker
Holliday, who had been at BYU since 2013, emerged as fan favorite and important recruiter. Per 247, he was a primary recruiter for Nick Kurtz, as well as the top receciver currently signed in this recruiting class, Jonah Trinnaman. Holliday is also listed as a coach very involved in the recruitment of BYU's currently top signed prospect, consensus four-star Troy Warner.
Since 2013, the talent level and depth at the WR position has grown into a position of strength along BYU's roster.
Holliday brought an especially unique coaching history to this staff. Previously the WR coach and recruiting coordinator at UTEP, Holliday has experience coaching in hugely diverse settings, from HBCUs, to the SEC (he coached WRs at Mississippi State from 2003-2006), to the Ivy League. His ties to Texas and the South were additional bonuses to BYU, who often needs to recruit nationally.
Coaching attrition across the staff is a given whenever there is a new head coach, but losing Holliday hurts a little. He was a fan favorite for a reason, and BYU will need to be creative to find a replacement.