BYU’s safety spot is in familiar hands again, and the timing could not be much bigger for Tommy Prassas.
With starting strong safety Raider Damuni expected to miss about a month, Prassas is back in the lineup for Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Arizona at 1:30 p.m. MDT at LaVell Edwards Stadium. For the Arizona native, the matchup carries a little extra weight: it comes against the school from his home state.
“It is exciting to play against them,” Prassas said Wednesday. “This is probably the most family I’m gonna have to come to a game all season, because it’s an Arizona team.
So it kind of hits more at home for me, but I treat every game the same. This one’s just more fun to play (in) because they’re from my home state.”
Prassas’ name first flashed across BYU’s radar in a big way last season, when the then-freshman jumped on a fumble forced by linebacker Jack Kelly and took it 30 yards for a touchdown in a 38-9 win over No. 13 Kansas State.
That play earned him the nickname “Touchdown Tommy.” A few games later, he added an interception and a career-high five tackles in a 38-35 win over Oklahoma State.
But injuries cut into the rest of his year. Prassas was limited to four regular-season games in 2024, plus an appearance in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and because of that, he redshirted.
Now he’s back in a meaningful role. Prassas, who prepped at Basha High in Chandler, was a three-star recruit by 247Sports and drew interest from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford and a long list of Group of Six programs before landing at BYU. He said he wasn’t much of a fan of Arizona or ASU growing up, though he acknowledged most of his family members pulled for the Sun Devils.
This week’s opponent also brings a familiar face. Arizona slot receiver Giovanni Richardson was Prassas’ high school teammate, and Prassas knows the Wildcats will test BYU with Richardson, other top receivers and fifth-year quarterback Noah Fifita.
“He’s definitely very mobile. He scrambles a lot to make big plays down the field, and he’s got a good wide receiver corps around him, so it’ll be a good challenge for us,” Prassas said.
Fifita said at Big 12 media days that Arizona had the BYU game circled for months, but Prassas said he hasn’t paid much attention to any of that talk.
“No, I haven’t been paying attention,” he said.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake said Monday that Prassas is ready for the opportunity. He pointed to Prassas’ past starts, his work ethic and the way Damuni has helped him along.
“Tommy is ready for this moment. Tommy has been a guy who started for us before, and he’s worked really hard, and he’s been mentored by Raider,” Sitake said.
“We have a lot of talent there at the safety position, and I feel good about their abilities. This is going to be a lot of fun to see them play, and for Tommy to have his opportunities.”
Defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said Prassas will get the starts with Damuni sidelined, while Kennan Pula also figures to see time at safety.
“Tommy will be getting the reps. Those guys were rotating … so Tommy will step in.
I think Kennan Pula will get some reps there, too. We are pretty deep at safety.”
Poppinga also praised what Prassas has done since getting back on the field.
“Tommy is hungry. After not playing for a season and having the freshman year that he had … I think he’s out to prove he’s as good as the other players, if not better now, with the experience that he has,” Poppinga said.
“I thought he played really well on Saturday. He’s had two really good practices this week.
He’s an Arizona kid, so I know he has some pride in this game to show well against the state where he’s from.”
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