BYU is Stockpiling Talent Along the Defensive Line

The Cougars are stockpiling talent at one of the most important positions

New BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga on the first day of 2026 Spring Camp | BYU Photo

On Thursday, four-star defensive tackle prospect Jeremiah Williams committed to BYU. Williams, a California native, is the first four-star commit for new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga.

With another four-star commit in the mix, Poppinga is continuing a trend that Jay Hill established when he was at BYU: stockpiling coveted recruits along the defensive line. Last year, the best teams in college football were the teams with the best defensive lines. A dominant defensive line makes everything easier on the defensive end.

For years, BYU lacked talent along the defensive line. In a sport where a good defensive line can carry a defense, the opposite was true for BYU in 2022: an under-talented defensive line tanked the defense and the Cougars were one of the worst defensive units in the country.

Then, BYU hired Jay Hill. Hill and his new staff addressed the need and brought in as many coveted defensive linemen as possible. Fast forward to today and BYU has quietly put together one of the more talented defensive lines in the Big 12. Last year, those prospects lacked experience. It can take time for BYU recruits to matriculate into the program. This year, BYU expects those players to take a step forward.

Between underclassmen on the current roster and commits/signees in the pipeline, BYU has stacked 13 defensive linemen with competing P4 offers. 5 of the 13 were four-star recruits.

BYU's Young Defensive Line Pipeline

Bold font indicates players that were/are four-star recruits.

1. Kini Fonohema - DE
2. Hunter Clegg - DE
3. Vincent Tautua - DE
4. Siosefa Brown - DE
5. Nusi Taumoepeau - DE
6. Braxton Lindsey - DE
7. Adney Reid - DE
8. Ulavai Fetuli - DT
9. Kelepi Latu-Finau - DT
10. Nehemiah Kolone - DT
11. Jeremiah Williams - DT (BYU commit)
12. Lopeti Moala - DT (BYU signee)
13. Devoux Tuataga - DE (BYU signee)

Signing four-star players doesn't guarantee that individual players with live up to their recruiting rating. There are plenty of examples of players that either don't live up to their recruiting hype, or under-recruited players that become stars at the college level.

Rather, the higher-rated a recruit, the better the odds that the player will become a starter or even better. History suggests if you stack a lot of talented players together, the cream will rise to the top and you will end up with a great defensive line. That's what BYU is doing. Now, as soon as the 2026 season, BYU can start to reap with benefits.

BYU has been good on defense the last two seasons. The difference between good defenses and great defenses in college football, in the opinion of this author, is great defenses have dominant defensive lines that can get after the quarterback without blitzing. That's what BYU will try to accomplish in 2026 and beyond.