The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 18 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 18 - redshirt junior middle linebacker Ace Kaufusi.
Ace Kaufusi's background
The last name of Kaufusi is synonymous with BYU football. Multiple of Ace’s cousins have played at BYU, including Micah, Isaiah, Jackson, Bronson, and Corbin. BYU was fortunate to have Ace among the Kaufusi clan to call Provo home.
His journey to Provo began as a high school star in Hawaii. In the class of 2021 he was a three-star prospect with an 83 rating from 247 Sports and the No. 18 prospect in the state of Hawaii.
He appeared early on to be locked in on playing somewhere in Utah for his college career. The only three offers listed on his high school profile came from BYU, Utah, and Utah State. He was also recruited by Stanford and UCLA, but it doesn’t appear he received offers from either school.
He ultimately chose Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars.
Prior to beginning his college football career he served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to San Jose, California.
Ace Kaufusi’s past and present at BYU
Following his missionary service, the 6-foot-4, 237-pound linebacker was thrust right into action for the Cougars. In his 2023 freshman season he appeared in 12 games and recorded 10 tackles, which is a really solid season for a freshman still knocking off the mission list. His most impressive outing came in BYU's final game of the season when he recorded seven tackles in a double overtime loss to Oklahoma, a heartbreaking game BYU fans are still trying to forget.
In 2024 his role diminished as BYU added additional talent to the linebacker room. That season he appeared again six games with just one tackle.
Last year he took a big step forward and made an impact on a deep BYU team that went12–2 and realistically should’ve made the College Football Playoffs. In 2025 he appeared in 13 games with a career-high 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up two passes in coverage.Â
As we look forward to 2026, Ace Kaufusi once again have a meaningful, impactful role as a rotational player in Brady Poppinga's defense. While future NFL player Isaiah Glaser will get the lion's share of snaps at middle linebacker, it should be Ace Kaufusi backing him up. It's a luxury for BYU to have a player of Kaufusi's skill and experience to be playing a backup or rotational role.
He has already proven what he can do when given the opportunity, and he’ll be ready to go when called upon in 2026.
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