The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 34 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 34 - redshirt sophomore linebacker Maika Kaufusi - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He was one of BYU's top recruits in 2022
Coming out of Alta High School in the class of 2022, Maika was a three-star prospect with a solid 86 overall rating from 247 Sports. He was the No. 15 recruit in the state of Utah that year. Kaufusi's 86 grade from 247 Sports made him among BYU's top signings in 2022 with only three recruits sporting higher grades - Aisea Moa (90), Cody Hagen (90), and Noah Moeaki (87). He was the second player to commit to BYU's class of 2022, cutting short the recruiting process and likely preventing other offers that would have followed.
COUGS ! 110% Committed @BYUfootball @kalanifsitake pic.twitter.com/uJzZbWSzlC
— Maika Kaufusi (@KaufusiMaika) March 16, 2021
Fun fact No. 2 - He got his first game action last year in the Alamo Bowl
After redshirting in 2023, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker appeared in one game last year for the Cougars. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, Kaufusi watched patiently from the sidelines as BYU went 10-2 in the regular season. But when Kalani Sitake's squad faced off against Deon Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes - including Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders - in the Alamo Bowl, Maika got his first and only action of the season.
While he didn't record any stats in BYU's glorious blowout win in the Alamo Bowl, his name appeared in the box score for the first time in his Cougar career. The website Ourlads currently projects Maika as a third-string linebacker for Jay Hill's defense this year.
Fun fact No. 3 - The Kaufusi line runs deep in Provo
The name Kaufusi has a long, long history with BYU football.
According to Maika's player profile at BYU's team website, some of his family members who have played for the Cougars include brothers Isaiah and Jackson, and his cousins Ace, Bronson, and Corbin. And that's just the current generation of the Kaufusi clan to don the royal blue, let alone previous generations who have done the same.