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Provo • Bryan Kariya is a man with an eye toward the future, and not just the immediate opportunities for Brigham Young's bowl chances, which look a lot better than they did a month ago.

To be sure, Kariya, a member of the Cougars' effective ball carrying trifecta, has his sights set on winning out the remainder of the BYU season, including Saturday's Mountain West Conference game at New Mexico.

But the junior from Kaysville is also looking East. His study major is the Chinese language. The possibilities are intriguing.

"Whatever comes," said Kariya, recently named to the ESPN Academic All-District VIII team with a 3.87 grade-point average. He is eligible to be named an Academic All-American, which will be announced Tuesday.

Kariya chuckled at the obvious next question:

"I was looking for a business internship, but if the CIA wants to send me out there I'd be good for that too."

Kariya discovered his love for the Chinese language, specifically the Mandarin dialect that is spoken in northern and southwestern China, while on his LDS Church Mission in Melbourne, Australia. Having met and talked with a Chinese, he was fascinated with the sound of the language.

"When I came home I decided I wanted to cultivate my language skills so I decided to major in it," Kariya said. "At this point the plan is to go to dental school, but I'm hoping to find an internship in China and brush up on my skills."

It's challenging work, mastering a non-Western language, especially the reading and writing, learning the characters that make up the printed phrases. Most pick up the speaking part first.

Kariya's not above the work. He was without an athletic scholarship when he walked on at BYU from Davis High, where he was the 5A MVP on the Darts' 2004 state championship team. He also was school Valedictorian, graduating with a 4.0 GPA.

"He's very, very smart," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who saw enough to know that the muscular 6-foot, 220-pound back eventually would earn his scholarship.

"He has earned not only the players' trust but the coaches' trust," Mendenhall said. "He's rarely hurt and is very tough and the epitome of BYU football. You can't find any flaws in terms of his classroom work and what he does socially and what he does in faith and how he plays. He's great young man."

At 24, Kariya, who has averaged 4 yards a carry and has combined with J.J. DiLuigi and Joshua Quezada to gain 1,432 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, has also become a vocal leader.

He also leads by example, having been literally the last player to leave the Cougars' practice facility Tuesday night.

"It's important for guys like me who have been around and seen what the culture of BYU has become the last few years," he said. "It's important for me to help other guys develop that and keep that going."

"I thank Bryan for being so consistent," Quezada said. The challenge that faces BYU and its drive toward achieving six wins and a bowl bid is what makes the rest of the season worthwhile, to see if it can be done. That's also one of the fun parts of learning a new language. Kariya said it is not true that Chinese curse words were among the first phrases he learned.

"No one ever taught those to me," he said. "My companion on my mission wanted to keep me clean." martyr@sltrib.com —

Bryan Kariya file

• The BYU running back was recently named to the ESPN Academic All-District VIII team with a 3.87 grade-point average.

• Kariya averages 3.9 yards a carry and has scored five touchdowns. He's also caught 16 passes.