The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 54 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 54 - redshirt junior linebacker Siale Esera.
Siale Esera's background
Esera grew up in BYU's backyard in Provo, prepping at nearby Timpview High School. He was a three-star prospect in the class of 2023 with an 87 rating. He was the No. 9 prospect in the state of Utah that year.
While he didn't reach four-star status at 247 Sports, his offer sheet sure looks like he did. Esera received scholarship offers from a boatload of Power Four programs including Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Nebraska, and many, many others.
Esera decided to keep his talents close to home and committed to the Cougars.
Esera's past and present with BYU
It feels like the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder's three seasons in BYU has all been leading up to a monster 2026 season this year. Given his individual talent and the skill of the players around him, Esera could be the biggest breakout player on BYU's defense this season.
In 2023 as a true freshman he appeared in five games with 19 tackles and a tackle for loss but he was hobbled by a Lisfranc injury and was able to count his season as a redshirt year.
In 2024 as a redshirt freshman he was once again limited to just five games due to foot issues. He was lightly used due to his health but still had five tackles with the highlight being a sack against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. He flashed immense potential in his first two years in the program, but just couldn't shake the injury bug.
Then last year everything started coming together for him. As a redshirt sophomore he appeared in all 14 games with 10 starts. He racked up 45 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. Incredibly, 16 of those tackles came in one glorious double-overtime win at Arizona.
As he enters his redshirt junior campaign, Siale Esera is being set up for a monster season. Provided Keanu Tanuvasa and Justin Kirkland are healthy on the interior defensive line, BYU's linebackers are going to have plenty of freedom to roam. Couple that with the fact that fellow linebackers Isaiah Glasker and transfer Cade Uluave are both on the Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 First Team, and Esera might be the forgotten man by BYU's opponents.
Siale Esera might have more freedom than just about any other player on BYU's defense to massively impact games. Provided he can stay healthy, he just might have the biggest breakout season of any Cougar defensive player this year.
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