The additions of defensive tackles Keanu Tanuvasa from Utah and Justin Kirkland from Oklahoma State has the potential to not only upgrade BYU’s defensive line, but to elevate the Cougars entire defense.
Football is often won in the trenches.
Trench warfare has not been the forte of BYU’s defensive line in recent years. Under previous defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki, interior defensive linemen were often lightly-recruited, undersized guys who served as pawns in a “bend but don’t break” scheme. It wasn’t uncommon to frustratingly watch three defensive linemen be offered up as sacrificial lambs as the eight guys behind them dropped into coverage.
When Jay Hill was hired going into the 2023 season he implemented a more aggressive defensive scheme but still didn’t have the quality of interior defensive linemen to fully unleash it.
That’s going to change in 2025.
The far-reaching impact of Tanuvasa and Kirkland
Keanu Tanuvasa will likely be BYU’s best individual interior defensive lineman since Khyiris Tonga left Provo in 2020. When healthy, Tanuvasa was a dominant force for the Utes over the past three seasons. In 24 games (19 starts) he registered 50 tackles and four sacks. The Athletic recently projected the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder as a late first round pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
Kirkland, meanwhile, is coming off two seasons at Oklahoma State where he played in 26 games (seven starts) with 40 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and one sack. At 6-foot-3 and 345 pounds, he’s a massive human being. Given his girth, Kirkland often requires more than one blocker to account for him. He’s a proven difference-maker in the trenches of the Big 12.
While none of the traditional stats Tanuvasa and Kirkland have put up throughout their careers jumps off the page, the impact of top-shelf defensive tackles transcends the box score.
Quality defensive tackles elevate the impact of defensive ends and linebackers.
When it comes to the run game, defensive tackles are often referred to as “block eaters”. The more attention Tanuvasa and Kirkland draw from the offensive line, the more freedom BYU’s talented linebackers will have to blow up running lanes and rack up tackles for loss. Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly could have a field day this year.
In passing situations, Tanuvasa and Kirkland will draw additional attention from opposing offensive lines that will free up BYU’s defensive ends off the edge. If opposing offenses try to block Tanuvasa and Kirkland one-on-one, they each have the talent to collapse pockets and pressure the quarterback. The more attention they pay to BYU's new defensive tackles, the greater the ability of the Cougars defensive ends to rack up sacks.
Imagine what Tyler Batty could have done lining up next to these two guys.
BYU’s defense is a unit. The play of every positional group has cascading effects on the effectiveness of the rest of the defense. Perhaps no group has a more significant impact on defenses as a whole than the interior defensive line. BYU has traditionally been weak in this area. Going into 2025, it’s now a strength.
Football is often won in the trenches.
If that saying holds true in 2025, BYU’s defense is about to do a whole lot of winning behind Keanu Tanuvasa and Justin Kirkland.