The BYU Cougars will kick off the 2026 season in 97 days against Utah Tech. As we count down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 97 - redshirt sophomore defensive end Kinilau Fonohema.
Fonohema's background
Fonohema is a local to the Provo area who prepped at nearby Springville High School, graduating in the class of 2024. He was dominant with the Red Devils with 12.5 sacks in his senior season and 10 as a junior. He was named 5A All-State First Team before committing to the Cougars.
At 247 Sports he was the No. 9 prospect in the state of Utah and No. 801 prospect nationally as a three-star prospect with an 87 grade. He had competing offers from Utah State, Washington State, Oregon State, and most notably, the University of Utah. He took an official visit to Utah and narrowed down his top choices to the Utes and the Cougars before committing to BYU.
Fonohema's time at BYU - past and present
As a redshirt sophomore this season, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end is entering his third season in Provo.
He didn't play during his 2024 redshirt campaign, but he did see some action last year. As a redshirt freshman in 2025 he appeared in five games - Portland State, Stanford, West Virginia, TCU, and UCF - getting his first snaps as a Cougar. He registered four tackles in those five games. BYU won all five of those games in pretty convincing fashion, giving younger guys like Kinilau a meaningful chance to gain some experience and be rewarded for their hard work at practice and in the weight room.
Fonohema enters the 2026 season battling for reps in a pretty loaded position room.
Veteran Bodie Schoonover is coming off a 38-tackle season a year ago while other young, promising talents like Nusi Taumoepeu, Hunter Clegg, and Tausili Akana beat out Fonohema for playing time last season. While he might not crack the two-deep lineup in this his redshirt sophomore campaign, he very well should be in the rotation and could be called upon at any point to contribute. BYU has suffered from a lack of consistent pressure off the edge for what feels like an eternity now, and if Fonohema can generate it, he's going to play.
Last year Kinilau Fonohema got some limited action in blowout wins for the Cougars.
This year he'll be fighting to earn more meaningful snaps on a week-in, week-out basis.
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