10 Players in the Transfer Portal with Connections to BYU
On the first day of the transfer portal window, over 700 FBS players entered the transfer portal. There were dozens of players that entered the transfer portal that have connections to BYU. Some of those connections are more direct than others - here are 10 players that have connections to the BYU football program.
1. Levani Damuni
Linebacker Levani Damuni has racked up over 200 tackles in his college career. He was a captain at Stanford in 2022 and now he is in the transfer portal. Perhaps no player in the portal has more connections to BYU than Levani Damuni. Levani is the the (literal nephew) of Jack Damuni and the cousin of BYU signee Raider Damuni. Raider will return home from his mission this month.
Levani's younger brother, Jovesa, signed with BYU as part of the 2021 recruiting class before leaving to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
2. Lolani Langi
Lolani Langi prepped at Bingham High School and had a BYU offer before signing with Boise State out of high school. He eventually ended up at Washington State and later Utah after his mission. Lolani is the younger brother of former BYU linebacker Harvey Langi.
3. Tayler Katoa
USC linebacker Tyler Katoa was a BYU recruit in high school who prepped at Layton High School before he signed with USC. Katoa is currently engaged to BYU star soccer player Olivia Wade.
4. Grant Starck
Nevada offensive lineman and Mountain West all-conference honorable mention Grant Starck entered the transfer portal on Monday. His connection to BYU? He received a BYU offer hours after entering the portal.
5. Bram Walden
Oregon offensive line transfer Bram Walden was a four-star recruit out of high school that held an offer from BYU. After entering the portal, Walden announced a transfer portal offer from BYU.
6. Mason Cobb
Oklahoma State star linebacker Mason Cobb prepped down the road from BYU's campus at Provo High School. Despite living just down the road, however, Cobb never received an offer from BYU and never really expressed interest in the Cougars.
7. Michael Green
Virginia linebacker Michael Green signed with Virginia in 2021. His position coach would have been Kelly Poppinga who will reportedly take a position on BYU's defensive staff. Green held over a dozen offers out of high school.
8. Deven Wright
Speaking of Kelly Poppinga, Boise State edge defender Deven Wright committed to Poppinga and Boise State as part of the 2022 class. He entered the transfer portal on Monday.
9. Alex Lines
Arizona tight end Alex Lines was a BYU recruit in high school - he made a visit up to Provo. He eventually signed with UNLV before transferring to Arizona.
10. DJ Uiagalelei
By far the most distant BYU connection on this list, former five-star prospect and Clemson transfer DJ Uiaglelei received an offer from BYU out of high school. That's not saying much - Uiagalelei held 30 offers coming out of high school. BYU, however, does not offer as many quarterbacks as most schools. They only offered four quarterbacks in that class, so there has at least been some form of contact between DJ and BYU in the past.