BYU Football: Four Cougars land on Polynesian Player of the Year watch list

Four BYU Football players are on the Polynesian Player of the Year watch list – Corbin Kaufusi, Moroni Laulu-Pututau, Butch Pau’u, and Sione Takitaki.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that BYU Football, one of the pioneers in recruiting Polynesian players, is well-represented on the Polynesian Player of the Year watch list.

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame released the watch list on Wednesday, and four Cougars are on the list, tied with USC for the most of any team.

The four BYU standouts who made the list are defensive end Corbin Kaufusi, tight end Moroni Laulu-Pututau, and linebackers Butch Pau’u and Sione Takitaki.

For Kaufusi, this is the second watch list he’s found himself on heading into the season. He’s also in the running for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

If the Cougars are going to rebound from a miserable 2017 campaign, all four of these players will need to have big seasons.

Kaufusi will spearhead a defensive line that must get more pressure into the backfield in 2018. Behind him, Takitaki needs to be a jack-of-all trades as he returns to the linebacker spot, and Pau’u will look to return to his hard-hitting 2016 form.

On offense, Laulu-Pututau is back after missing last season with injury, and if he’s healthy and plays well he’ll help create one of the most lethal tight end duos in the country with Matt Bushman.

The Polynesian Player of the Year Award began in 2014, and it’s sponsored and presented by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

The semifinalists will be announced on December 5th, with the winner announced on December 14th. A nine-man selection committee will decide the winner.

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame opened in 2013, and two former Cougar greats sit on the hall of fame’s board – Vai Sikahema and Reno Mahe.