Three Young Pass Rushers Have Emerged for BYU

BYU defensive end Tausili Akana pressures Noah Fifita in Cougars' win over Arizona | BYU Photo

As soon as Jay Hill was hired as BYU's defensive coordinator, he prioritized upgrading the talent along the defensive line. Fast forward and Hill and his staff have successfully brought in multiple coveted recruits over the last three years. Now those former coveted recruits have turned into contributors for a room full of young defensive ends.

Three young pass rushers, in particular, have started to emerge for BYU over the last several weeks: Hunter Clegg, Tausili Akana, and Nusi Taumoepeau. All three of them are former four-star recruits, and all three of them have seen their roles increase as the year progresses.

Hunter Clegg

True freshman Hunter Clegg was on his mission at this time last year. He flipped from Utah to BYU in December and has now appeared in all seven games for the Cougars. He made his first career start against Utah on Saturday night and he got his first career sack. That was the first sack by a defensive end this season.

Clegg is up to 10 pressures this season and he had three pressures in his first start against the Utes. Clegg will get better and better as he familiarizes himself with BYU's playbook and fully shakes the mission rust.

Tausili Akana

Texas transfer Tausili Akana, a sophomore, has seen his role increase over the last two or three weeks. He played 6 snaps against WVU, 13 snaps against Arizona, and 20 snaps against Utah. Against Arizona, he forced Noah Fifita's only interception by getting pressure before Fifita could release the football.

Akana has electric quickness and he is starting to settle into his role. Against Utah, he made a spin move on Spencer Fano to pressure Devon Dampier on just a three-man rush. Akana was one of BYU's highest-graded players in the win over Utah.

Nusi Taumoepeau

Nusi Taumoepeau flipped from Stanford to BYU after Troy Taylor was fired. Taumoepeau was dealing with an injury early in the season, so he wasn't available until the Arizona game. Taumoepeau has started to see the field as a true freshman now that he is healthy. He played 10 snaps against the Utes, a career high.

Taumoepeau came in the game against Arizona at a critical moment. On Arizona's last drive in regulation, it was Taumoepeau that flushed Fifita from the pocket and forced an incompletion to get the ball back to BYU's offense.