Raider Damuni Provides Injury Update, Avoids Season-Ending Injury

In the first half of BYU's season-opener against Utah Tech, veteran safety Raider Damuni suffered a leg injury. Damuni had to be carried off the field, and he couldn't put any weight on his leg as he walked to the locker room.

After the game, Kalani Sitake said BYU was waiting to see the MRI results to know the severity of the injury. Following the MRI, Damuni posted an injury update on social media on Sunday. Damuni announced that his injury was not season-ending.

"I appreciate all the love and prayers," Damuni said. "Although I'll miss a lot of my senior season, I won't miss all of it. I know God has a plan for me and I trust Him."

Damuni was entering his fourth season with the program and was one of the more experienced players on BYU's roster. Losing Damuni ahead of critical conference games like Arizona and TCU is a big loss for Kelly Poppinga's defense. However, the good news is Damuni avoided the worst outcome and will not miss the entire season.

The Depth at Safety Behind Raider Damuni

Redshirt sophomore Tommy Prassas is listed as the backup behind Damuni on the depth chart. Damuni wsa the starting strong safety, although he told BYU On SI in an interview after Spring Camp that BYU safeties cross-train to play both free safety and strong safety.

We expect Prassas to slide into the starting lineup in a critical conference game against Arizona. Prassas played critical snaps at safety for BYU in 2024 as a true freshman. When BYU had a need at nickel last season, it was Prassas that moved over and started at nickel for the first four games of the 2025 season. Prassas suffered an injury against Colorado and never fully returned to the lineup.

Over the offseason, Prassas moved back to his natural position at safety. He played 13 snaps at safety for BYU against Utah Tech.

The other safety to watch is true freshman Kennan Pula. Pula was a standout in Fall Camp and he was a coveted four-star recruit coming out of high school. Pula is supremely talented and is a future starter for BYU, but it might be a tall task to insert a true freshman into the lineup against a senior quarterback like Noah Fifita.

BYU could name Prassas as the starter as early as Monday when the depth chart is unveiled.

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