Breaking: Puka Nacua and Samson Nacua Commit to BYU Football

After months of speculation and rumors, BYU football added two dynamic weapons to their offense in Puka and Samson Nacua. Puka, a transfer from Washington, and Samson, a transfer from Utah, are the brothers of former BYU great defensive back Kai Nacua. Now, the two younger brothers will follow Kai's footsteps in wearing the white and blue.
Unlike their older brother, however, Puka and Samson play on the offensive side of the ball at wide receiver. Through two seasons (one of which was abbreviated due to COVID-19) at Washington, Puka had 319 receiving yards on 16 receptions and three touchdowns. He was in line to be one of Washington's top receivers this season before he decided to enter the transfer portal. In four seasons at Utah, Samson had 1,105 receiving yards on 82 receptions and 11 touchdowns.
Samson has one year of eligibility remaining and he will be eligible to play immediately as a graduate transfer. Puka will have four years of eligibility remaining, he will also be eligible to play right away assuming the NCAA passes the one-time transfer rule. According to reports, things are trending in the right direction in that regard:
Source: NCAA is moving forward with one-time transfers. D1 Council will vote on a waiver to allow one-time transfers for the upcoming year (2021-22) at their April meeting after the Final Four.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) March 8, 2021
Puka Nacua was the best prospect in the state of Utah in the 2019 class. A consensus four-star recruit out of high school, Puka becomes the highest-rated wide receiver to play at BYU since recruiting rankings began in 2000. He knocks out Ross Apo who previously held the top spot for the highest-rated WR to play at BYU.
We'll have more information on this story in the coming days. For now, you can check out of their of few of their highlights.
Highlights
Puka Nacua
🎙️Devy Deep Dive Podcast-Ep. 63🎙️
— Brandon Lejeune (@DevyDeepDive) September 4, 2020
- Discussed my Top 20 Devy Wide Receivers
- I'm on an island with my #1 WR in #devy 👀👀
- DeVonta Smith Film Review
- Deep Dive Player - Washington WR Puka Nacua👇 pic.twitter.com/Ty4ybQZsMw
Nobody was catching Puka 💨
— All-American Bowl (@AABonNBC) November 22, 2020
2019 All-American Puka Nacua (@AsapPuka) sprints 65-yards for the score. #PurpleReign ☔️ #AllAmericanBowl 🇺🇸 @adidasFballUS
pic.twitter.com/I8IWM8uUyF
The Utes get some help in the Pac12 South race. Ex-Orem high star Puka Nacua helped UW win in Tucson. The late, late highlights, the new polls and @pkkinahan on the Utes vs ASU tonight on Talkin' Sports after @KUTV2News at 10. pic.twitter.com/tlKYgW4C3s
— David James (@DavidDJJames) October 14, 2019
Samson Nacua
🎥: @Utah_Football QB Cooper Bateman hits @samson_nacua for the 50-yard TD catch and run in today's open scrimmage pic.twitter.com/knUu1obTu0
— Brandon Judd (@brandonljudd) April 1, 2017
🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏#GoUtes #OSUvsUTAH #UtahUtes #OregonStateBeavers @_SNOOP1 #TylerHuntley @lionel_nacua #SamsonNacua #UteArchive 2019 pic.twitter.com/6f0Fqtx6fI
— MUSSEMERITUS (@MUSSemeritus) December 3, 2020
🎯🎯🎯 #GoUtes @_SNOOP1 @lionel_nacua #TylerHuntley #SamsonNacua #HeartOfDallasBowl #UTAHvsWVU #UteArchive 2017 pic.twitter.com/XXEzyHYjFZ
— MUSSEMERITUS (@MUSSemeritus) August 18, 2019
UTES BACK WITHIN ONE SCORE!
— Cold Blooded Sports (@ColdBloodedChat) December 7, 2019
Utah QB Tyler Huntley finds WR Samson Nacua for a 25 yard TD! Utes trail 23-15 against the ducks with 1 quarter of play left!#GoUtes #Pac12FCG pic.twitter.com/QpbkXvKR5E
Beautiful 51 yard strike from Huntley to Samson Nacua! 🔥
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) September 29, 2019
Watch live on @FS1#goutes #WSUvsUTAH pic.twitter.com/P9NGhB8CSa
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Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of BYU On SI. He has covered BYU athletics since 2020. During that time, he has published over 3,500 stories that have reached millions of readers.
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