PROVO - Cade Uluave’s college path has taken him from one extreme to another, and now the former Cal linebacker is back in Utah with BYU, ready to turn one final season into something bigger.
That wasn’t always the plan. Two weeks after graduating from Mountain Ridge High School in Herriman, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound defender headed to Berkeley, California, as Cal was making the jump from the collapsing Pac-12 to the ACC. At the start, he was calling his mom nearly every day with the same question: Can I come home?
He stayed long enough to become a difference-maker. Over three seasons with the Golden Bears, Uluave started 26 of 34 games and piled up 237 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Last season, he earned first-team All-ACC honors.
Still, with one season left and a coaching change at Cal, he entered the transfer portal and started looking for the right fit. BYU checked the box.
"I grew as a player, as well; all credit to Cal and their staff," said Uluave, who recently earned All-Big 12 preseason honors. "Now it's time to come back home and let my family drive 20-30 minutes to a game instead of having to hop on a flight. That's one thing that I love about being back here at BYU, and being able to play for a great school, a great university, and a great football team."
For Uluave, this is more than just a transfer. It’s a return to familiar ground.
His father, Kalisi, grew up in Provo, played linebacker at Southern Utah and later earned a graduate degree from BYU. His grandfather spent most of his life in Utah County and was a BYU football season-ticket holder for nearly 20 years.
His sister Chloee is currently enrolled at the university.
"Deep down, I was always a BYU fan," Uluave said.
"The roots run super deep," he added. "I love being able to come back here and play."
BYU also sees something specific in him: speed. New defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said Uluave has been timed at 22 miles per hour, "which is as fast as most of our corners."
"I watched his film and I thought he was fast and he looked really fast. But he's faster and more explosive than I thought he was," Poppinga said.
"When that guy pulls the trigger in the run game and he comes downhill, it's as quick and as fast as I've seen. I'm really excited to see what he's going to do in games in the Big 12."
Cornerback Evan Johnson wasn’t ready to hand over the fast-man title without a fight.
"Cade is fast," he said with a wide smile. "But the DBs are all fast.
No offense to Cade, but the DBs are faster. That's all I'll say."
The Cougars need that kind of burst after losing Jack Kelly, the New York Giants’ sixth-round draft pick from Kearns, who finished last season with 55 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles. Uluave brings more than athleticism, though. Teammate Isaiah Glasker pointed to the way he carries himself around the room.
"He's a guy who works really hard," Glasker said. "He sets a great example to the other linebackers, and the rest of the guys."
Uluave said he’s healthy again after working through offseason workouts with a protective cast on his hand, the result of an injury late in the 2025 season while playing in front of the Bay Area’s often-quirky, frequently passionate " Calgorithm."
He’s expected to be ready for fall, when he’ll play his final college season, finish his degree in December and then try to make the NFL.
There’s a little irony in the whole thing, he admits. Cal and BYU sit at opposite ends of the cultural spectrum, and Uluave has lived both.
"I don't think you could get more polar opposite places. But I love it," Uluave said. "Going from protests every day to coming out here and playing football and going to church.
"From protests to prayers; I love it."
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