The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 57 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 57 - redshirt senior defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa.
Keanu Tanuvasa's background
Coming out of high school in the class of 2020, Tanuvasa was a solid three-star recruit with an 87 overall rating. He was the No. 63 prospect in the state of California that year and the No. 58 defensive tackle nationally.
He had several suitors coming after him with scholarship offers including current Power Four teams like BYU, Utah, and UCLA. Other offers came from the likes of Utah State and Oregon State. As an LDS prospect, BYU fans were hopeful he would call Provo home, but he ultimately chose the University of Utah.
And it was a good decision for him to start his college career at Utah. The Utes under Kyle Whittingham were known for dominant play along the defensive line and effectively utilizing interior defensive linemen. BYU, on the other hand, was known for the opposite under the defensive regime at the time.
Tanuvasa thrived at Utah. The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder started 19 of 24 games for the Utes, and was often dominant. He registered 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and four sacks. But what doesn't appear in the box score is how often he plugged running lanes or collapsed passing pockets, often blowing up plays before the opposing offense could get them going.
Simply put, he wreaked havoc at Utah before transferring to BYU last year.
Keanu Tanuvasa's past and present with BYU
Landing Tanuvas in the transfer portal was a massive win for BYU.
Under defensive coordinator Jay Hill, BYU's defensive line was finally starting to progress into the era of modern football. But there were still holes along the interior defensive line, and Keanu was the immediate solution.
Going into last season The Athletic projected him as a late first round pick. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. ranked him as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country. Most people, Tanuvasa included, thought he would have a "one-and-done" 2025 season in Provo, then become an early pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Tanuvasa's skills are best utilized when he plays the 3-tech position on the defensive line, allowing him to line up between the offensive guard and tackle. This alignment allows him to use his speed against guards and his strength against tackles. He's a game wrecker as a 3-tech defensive tackle.
The plan was for Keanu to be the 3-tech last year, but that required Justin Kirkland to play the 0/1-tech nose guard position, lining up over center or between the center and offensive guard. Kirkland was supposed to eat blockers in the middle of the defensive line, freeing up Tanuvasa to get into the backfield. But when Kirkland went down with an injury and missed most of last season, Tanuvasa did the unselfish thing by moving inside to nose guard. That massive change limited his upside and impact.
There's a reason he was named to Phil Steele's Preseason All-Big 12 First Team. He's going to go off this year.
While Tanuvasa played extremely well last year with 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks, it wasn't a dominant season that led to him climbing up draft boards. In addition to playing more 0/1-tech than anticipated, he also had some moments where he committed unnecessary penalties that hurt the defense.
With Justin Kirkland now healthy, expect a dominant senior season from Keanu Tanuvasa.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Tanuvasa repeatedly used the word "free" when describing what it's going to be like to shift over to the 3-tech position and let Kirkland eat blockers at nose guard. You can almost hear him salivating over the opportunities he's going to have this year of immediately getting into the backfield.
Look for a monster season from Keanu Tanuvasa, and look for his name to once again start rising up NFL draft boards.
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