The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 18 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 18 - redshirt sophomore linebacker Ace Kaufusi - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He was a three-star recruit
Ace was a three-star recruit coming out of Hawaii in the class of 2020. He received an 83 overall grade from 247 Sports, which ranked him as the No. 21 recruit in the state of Hawaii that year. He reportedly had offers from Utah and Utah State when he committed to BYU in late 2019.
Fun fact No. 2 - He's a returned missionary
According to his player profile page at BYU's team website, Ace served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Jose, California. With two full post-mission seasons under his belt, the mission rust is long gone.
Fun fact No. 3 - He broke out as a freshman against Oklahoma
The 6-foot-4, 237-pound linebacker is part of a loaded corps of linebackers this year. While he may not get starting reps playing behind Isaiah Glasker, Ace should be in the two-deep roster. As a redshirt sophomore Kaufusi has some Power Four experience under his belt. Over two seasons with the program he has appeared in 18 games with 11 tackles.
The highlight of Kaufusi's BYU career thus far was the team's final game of the 2023 season, a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Oklahoma. In that contest he had seven tackles, including five solo stops, finishing his freshman season on a high note. Last year he only had one tackle in five games and will look to bounce back after a down year.
The reality is, BYU's defense is stocked with a lot of quality and depth at linebacker. Ace Kaufusi adds to that depth, and he could be called upon at any time this season to hit the field and contribute.