Following Saturday night's thrilling battle that saw BYU beat its rivals Utah for the third time in a row, Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake opened his press conference by doing something uncommon in the world of sports.
He praised his opponents.
More specifically, Sitake, unprompted, talked for a minute and a half about his admiration and appreciation for Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.
"I want to take this time to express my love for Kyle Whittingham," Sitake said less than a minute into his opening remarks.
"He's a mentor of mine, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him, and there's a lot of us on this coaching staff that wouldn't be here if it weren't for him," Sitake said. "He's one of the best coaches I've ever known."
Sitake was on Whittingham's staff at Utah for nine years from 2005-2014, and was the linebacker coach for the Utes' historic 2008 undefeated Sugar Bowl winning squad. He later became the defensive coordinator for the Utes.
"I hope our fans can understand that he is extremely competitive, but he's a great man ... I hope everyone can just appreciate him for the man that he is, the coach and everything that he's been as a mentor to me," Sitake added.
On Monday's media availability, Sitake was asked why he felt it was important to show love to Whittingham in his postgame remarks.
"If you've been apart of this [BYU] family, I think it's important to recognize that," Sitake said, highlighting Whittingham's former BYU playing career and his role in the LaVell Edwards coaching tree.
"I just wanted people to know the person that I respect and love. Maybe they don't understand him as much as I do. I think what I was trying to do was give them an idea of why he's so important to me," Sitake added. "He's super important to my life and I just wanted to make sure that he and his family know I appreciate them."
After a week where national media and fans propped up the BYU-Utah rivalry as a nasty, hate-filled game, Sitake chose to take the high road.
It is what makes him one of the most unique coaches in the country.