After BYU's first-round victory over VCU in the NCAA Tournament earlier in March, Cougars players in the postgame locker room started up a tater tots chant, which was directed at the program's best player, Richie Saunders. Why? Were they imploring Saunders, who had scored a team-high 16 points in the win, to enjoy a victory meal that included the popular side dish?
As it turns out, Saunders is uniquely related to the tater tot.
Richie Saunders-Tater Tots Connection
How is Saunders connected to tater tots, you ask? Saunders's great-grandfather is Francis Nephi Grigg—also known as F. Nephi Grigg—who invented the tater tot at a frozen food plant in Ontario, Ore., back in 1953. Grigg, along with his brother Golden T. Grigg, co-founded the company Ore-Ida, which today owns the copyright to the name "Tater Tots."
As the story goes, Ore-Ida Foods's french fry production began to increase in the post-World War II food craze in the 1950s. As potatoes were prepared into french fries with a julienne cut, scraps of potatoes were discarded. These scraps were initially sold and used to feed cattle, but in Grigg's eyes, the leftover spuds were going to waste. So, the potato scraps were mashed together, formed into the shape of the delectable side dish using a machine the Grigg brothers called the "Holey Board", then seasoned and deep-fried. The bite-sized side dish officially got its name in 1955 after a naming contest among the plant workers, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
How is Richie Saunders related to F. Nephi Grigg, the inventor of the tater tot?
Saunders's grandmother, Delma Grigg Saunders, was the eldest of F. Nephi Grigg's eight children. That makes Saunders the great-grandson of the tater tot inventor.
Richie Saunders's Tater Tots NIL deal
On March 20, just hours before BYU's victory over VCU, Ore-Ida announced a partnership with Saunders on its account on X.
"We're teaming up with basketball hotshot Richie Saunders, the great-grandson of Ore-Ida founder and inventor of Tater Tots, to give away free tots if Richie's team wins today," the company wrote. "If they win, the countdown for our 30-minute ‘Tot Clock’ will begin at the link in our IG bio post-game."
After the final buzzer of any Cougars win, Ore-Ida starts up a 30-minute "Tot Clock", which gives fans half an hour to head to a link, which can be found in the company's bio on Instagram, where they can claim their reward for one free Ore-Ida Tater Tots product.
some Tot Talk with Heir Richie 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UoN0htPM61
— Ore-Ida Potatoes (@OreIdaPotatoes) March 20, 2025
Well, the shots have been falling and the tots have been flowing, as BYU won its second-round game over No. 3-ranked Wisconsin 91–89 on Saturday, giving fans a second chance at a free portion of the bite-sized spuds.
And the Saunders-tater tots connection has added a fun layer to March Madness ever since.
They’re eating tater tots in honor of Richie and BYU’s win haha pic.twitter.com/vV2bAGSTyT
— Jess Tyler (@everydayjess) March 23, 2025
Can Saunders and the Cougars keep the good tots, I mean times, rolling with another win? BYU next takes on the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16 on Thursday at 7:09 p.m. ET. One thing is for sure. Every fan, except for those of BYU's opponents, will be rooting for the Cougars the rest of the way in the tourney for a very tasty reason.
More March Madness on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Breaking Down BYU Star Richie Saunders's Family Connection to Tater Tots.
