The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 45 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 45 - junior defensive tackle Viliami Po'uha.
Viliami Po'uha's background
If the last name sounds familiar, Viliami is the son of BYU defensive line coach Sione Po'uha. His father played in 106 NFL games over seven seasons, so Viliami was blessed with not only good genes, but in-house coaching throughout his life.
And the coaching paid off early. Viliami prepped at Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah, so he was a known quantity to BYU for years. He was a solid 3-star recruit with an 84 rating from 247 Sports. He was the No. 12 prospect in the Beehive State and the No. 80 edge rusher nationally back in the class of 2021.
Viliami seemed destined to play at the University of Utah. His dad starred at Utah during his college career and was on staff at Utah during his son's high school career, so it was no surprise when Viliami committed to the Utes before his senior season of high school football.
After high school he served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Birmingham, Alabama.
Then in December 2022, Sione left his staff job with the Utes to instead coach at BYU. This decision contributed to Viliami decommitting from the Utes and signing with BYU, joining his father in Provo.
Po'uha's past and present with BYU
At 6-foot-3 and 278 pounds, Viliami is a bit of a "tweener" on the defensive line and can line up on the edge as well as on the interior defensive line. BYU classifies him as a defensive tackle, so the expectation is he will primarily play inside. His versatility has helped him in his previous two seasons.
As a freshman in 2023 he appeared in all 13 of the Cougars games, which is something of a rarity for a recently returned missionary. He recorded nine tackles in his first season in Provo, which is a success given that most guys are still "knocking off the mission rust" at that point.
Last year as a sophomore he saw his role and his impact grow. He played in all 14 of BYU's outstanding 12-2 campaign with four starts, recording 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. He had perhaps his best game against Texas Tech with a season-high five tackles.
In 2026 he will battle with Anisi Purcell for backup snaps behind Keanu Tanuvasa. He could also get some additional work coming off the edge given his background as a defensive end. Po'uha was a key contributor to a great BYU team last year, and more of the same is expected of him in 2026.
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