Every season, the same question hangs over BYU’s defense: is this finally the year the Cougars can generate heat with four? The talent has always teased it.
The production usually hasn’t. But this group of edge rushers feels different.
BYU is bringing back all but one player from a young defensive ends room that looks ready to take a real leap. For a team with big goals this season, that jump matters. The Cougars have recruited the position as well as almost anyone, and the top four options are loaded with pedigree and upside.
Tausili Akana, Hunter Clegg, and Enoch Taumoepeau are three of the nine most talented players on the roster by star rating, with Akana at 96, Clegg at 92, and Taumoepeau at 91. Koa Schoonover, rated 88, was the highest-rated signee in the 2020 class and is now in his 5th fifth season at BYU. Braxton Lindsey, a former blue-chip recruit, doesn’t even make the two-deep here, though he and others should still factor into the rotation as the year unfolds.
What makes this group intriguing is that the talent is obvious, but the sample size is still growing. Schoonover was the workload guy last season, logging 455 snaps and finishing second on the team with 3 sacks.
He’s also been used inside on clear pass-rush downs so the quicker edge players can get on the field. Clegg flashed in his own right, posting a better pressure rate than Schoonover despite playing fewer snaps.
Akana and Taumoepeau are the pure juice in the room. They ranked 15th and 6th, respectively, in the Big 12 in pass rush win rate, which measures how often a player wins against pass protection.
Taumoepeau gets the starting nod because the production has been eye-opening: he ranked first nationally in pressure rate among edges with at least 50 pass rush snaps. That’s ahead of Utah’s John Henry Daley and Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Romelo Height.
The late-season surge was especially loud. Fourteen of Taumoepeau’s 15 pressures came in BYU’s final five games.
In his only game with at least 20 snaps, against Georgia Tech, he led the team in pressures, QB hits, tackles, and forced fumbles. The only thing missing is volume.
That’s why this feels like such an important year for the group. It may be the first time in the Kalani Sitake era that BYU has this blend of talent, experience, and depth at edge, enough to rotate bodies without a noticeable drop. Clegg, Taumoepeau, and Akana all now have a full season of playing time behind them, and the expectation is that the next step is a big one.
The numbers from the broader pass rush back that up. BYU’s sacks have climbed from 13 in 2023 to 30 in 2025, while total pressures have jumped from 135 to 235 over that same stretch.
If that growth keeps rolling, the Cougars could be staring at roughly 300 pressures and 40 sacks this season. Texas Tech had 41 sacks last year, which gives you a sense of the territory BYU is chasing.
But the edge group has to turn more of those pressures into actual takeaways from the quarterback. Last season, these four combined for 13 QB hits and only 5 sacks.
A little more burst, a little more finish, and the whole defense changes. Instead of just making quarterbacks uneasy, this group can start ending drives.
That’s why this unit looms so large for BYU’s ceiling. If the edges become what their recruiting profiles suggest, the loss of Jay Hill won’t matter nearly as much.
In obvious passing situations, BYU can even slide Schoonover inside with Tanuvasa and let Akana and Taumoepeau attack from the outside. The ranking here is seventh only because the production hasn’t yet matched the talent over a full season.
Still, the flashes have been loud. Akana’s inside spin move was a problem on Saturday night.
He was a force late in BYU’s win over Arizona, finishing with two QB hits that helped force a goal line interception and the game-winning incompletion. Clegg had a sack against Utah’s offensive line, and Taumoepeau was the best defender on the field against Georgia Tech.
That’s the blueprint. If BYU can get that version of this group for a full season, the conversation around the defense changes fast.
In Other News...
BYU May Have Found A Crucial Answer On The Offensive Line
Preseason camp has started to sharpen one of BYUs biggest questions up front, and Paki Finau has moved to the center of it. The Washington transfer has mostly locked down the starting job at left tackle, giving the Cougars a possible answer on the edge as they work through the final stages of camp. Kalani Sitake has also highlighted Finaus value beyond one spot, pointing to a versatility that makes him useful wherever BYU needs help along the offensive line.
Finaus path to Provo adds another layer to why this development matters. He arrived with a clear personal purpose, and his move has already put him in position to become a key piece for a line that needs stability and flexibility. For BYU, the appeal is obvious: a player who can handle multiple roles and looks ready to settle one of the most important positions on the field. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Got An Early National Sign About Its Offense
The preseason Associated Press All-America team offered an early national snapshot of where college footballs star power is headed, and BYU showed up in a way that should matter to its offense. Texas led all schools with four first-team selections, the Southeastern Conference landed 14 of the 27 first-team spots, and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was among the headline names, but the Cougars got their own mention on the second team. For a program looking to keep building on offensive momentum, that kind of recognition is the sort of nod that suggests people outside Provo are paying attention.
LJ Martins place on the second team gives BYU a little more visibility entering the season, especially for a run game that will need to help define the offenses ceiling. The Cougars also had a familiar local name surface on the defensive side, with former Lone Peak standout John Henry Daley earning second-team honors after his transfer path took him away from BYU and to Michigan. Both selections add to the national conversation around players with Utah ties, even if the bigger story in Provo is still how far the offense can go once the games start for real. [Read more 🡒]
LJ Martin Gives BYU Another National Reason To Believe
LJ Martin keeps showing up on national watch lists, and BYU has every reason to notice. The Cougars running back was named a preseason candidate for the 2024 Doak Walker Award, another sign that his profile keeps rising after he was also selected as the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and picked as a preseason All-America by multiple outlets.
For BYU, the attention is more than just offseason decoration. The Doak Walker Award goes to the most outstanding running back in college football, and Martins inclusion for a third straight year puts him in a familiar conversation before the season even begins. The only question now is whether he can turn that recognition into the kind of year that keeps him in the race when the award is announced in December. [Read more 🡒]