The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 22 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 22 - sophomore safety Tommy Prassas - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He wasn't necessarily a big-time recruit for BYU
In 2024 BYU signed a handful of four-star and near four-star recruits who entered the program last year with high expectations. Big-time recruits like Faletau Satuala, Ryner Swanson, Ephraim Asiata, Tre Alexander, and several others generated most of the recruiting headlines.
Tommy Prassas, a three-star recruit from Arizona with an 84 overall grade from 247 Sports, flew under the radar a bit. He was the No. 35 prospect in the state of Arizona and didn't have any other Power Four offers before committing to the Cougars, so he didn't enter the program with a ton of fanfare.
Fun fact No. 2 - He massively exceeded expectations as a freshman last year
Given Tommy's high school recruiting profile and with BYU already having a deep, talented safeties room, it wouldn't have been surprising to see him play some special teams as a freshman last year and maybe get a few defensive snaps in blowouts. But after arriving in Provo it quickly became apparent to BYU's defensive staff that Prassas had too much talent to keep him off the field. Last year he did his part in BYU's incredible 11-2 season by appearing in all 13 games, recording 20 tackles, one interception, and a memorable scoop-and-score touchdown in the electric Kansas State game.
His overall solid play led to him being recognized last year as a Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Honorable Mention.
Fun fact No. 3 - He can make the "sophomore leap"
It's not uncommon for freshmen like Tommy Prassas who gain both experience and confidence as freshmen to make a "sophomore leap" after a full year in their new college system. And if Tommy wants to be on the field a lot in 2025, he's going to need to do just that. He could compete for reps at strong safety, battling four-star Raider Damuni and veteran Talan Alfrey for playing time, and at free safety competing with veteran Tanner Wall and four-star Faletau Satuala.
Tommy Prassas has the talent, but he's also competing for snaps in a very, very talented BYU safeties room.