The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 55 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 55 - redshirt junior tackle Austin Leausa - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He's in a battle to start at right tackle
After transferring from Southern Utah to BYU last year, Austin Leausa started seven of 11 games for the Cougars in 2024. Coach Kalani Sitake noted on a KSL Sports feature that Leausa is an extremely versatile player who can play both tackle and guard while being able to play on either the right or the left side. The 6-foot-5, 315 pounder is a chess piece who can play where the team needs him. As of today it looks like he's locked in a battle with Michigan transfer Andrew Gentry for the starting right tackle spot.
Fun fact No. 2 - He nearly quit football - twice!
According to a well-written profile by the Deseret News Jay Drew, Austin Leausa nearly quite college football on two different occasions. First, Leausa began his college career at Southern Utah. After the 2021 season he and his wife, Ginger, became first-time parents and the experience was overwhelming. Leausa nearly hung up his cleats at that point, but he ultimately decided to transfer to Utah State for the 2022 season. Unfortunately, he had a bad experience in Logan, nearly quit football again, but ultimately transferred back to Southern Utah in 2023.
After a solid return season at Southern Utah in 2023, Leausa began receiving interest from a host of larger programs like Baylor, Houston, and Boise State, but he ultimately chose the Cougars. After his strong 2024 debut season in Provo, it appears he made the right decision.
Fun fact No. 3 - He's tri-lingual
According to his player profile page at BYU's team website, Leausa served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2017 to 2019 in the Philippines. He's tri-lingual with English, Tagalog, and Ilocano.