California DL Kelepi Vete Discusses BYU Commitment

On Monday, BYU picked up a commitment from 2025 defensive line prospect Kelepi Vete. Vete, a mid three-star prospect, picked the Cougars over competing offers from Stanford, Baylor, Arizona, Arizona State, and Cal among others. We caught up with Vete to discuss his recruitment and commitment to BYU.

BYU first got in touch with BYU's staff in January of 2022. The relationship started to flourish when new BYU defensive line coach Sione Po'uha took over. "My primary recruiter was Sione Po’uha and since the summer of 2023, we’ve built a very strong relationship together. Po’uha is someone that I’ve been able to connect with both on the field and off as we share many of the same values and experiences."

Po'uha's relationship with Vete was the primary driver behind Vete's interest in BYU. Prior to being recruited by Po'uha, Vete knew relatively little about the BYU football program. "All I knew about BYU's football program was that they had the first Tongan-born head coach in college football history," Vete told Cougs Daily.

Vete had a variety of different schools to choose from, but BYU stood out in four ways:

1. Faith - Vete is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but he is religious. "Faith was the first and most important," Vete said. "The Coaches have done a great job in helping each player develop in their respected faiths (also considering the fact that the BYU players are faithfully diverse ranging from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). They encourage players to take time from their day besides football to grow their faith and have daily devotions. Thankfully they’ve also found a church for me that I’d be able to join during my time when I get to Provo."

2. Family - "The more I got to meet the whole Coaches and support staff and got to know them better, the more I felt at home," Vete said. "At first, I was nervous because I’d leave my family 500 miles behind, but with the way the BYU staff overall has treated me, it feels no different from home. I also got to meet my future teammates and it felt so awesome! Everyone treated me like I was already a Freshman up there. I was able to be mentored by many of the older defensive and also got to connect with all of the BYU defensive linemen...I got to be myself around them, and it felt no different compared to the friends I have here in Oakland."

3. Football - "Listening to how Kalani likes to coach up players the right way and how he cares for the development of his players on and off the field was a green light to me," Vete explained. "I also got to watch a couple practices with Coach Po’uha...Po’uha is the perfect teacher. He has a lot of experience and has been through all types of processes in college and in the NFL."

4. Opportunities outside of football - "As I’ve learned, Provo’s Silicon Slopes is in the uprise of the economy and it’s only Located in the ‘backyard’ of BYU and UVU. Many BYU alumni become successful through the opportunities given through these successful businesses in the Silicon Slopes, helping me keep in mind that since football is a short cut, I always have another Plan B to sufficiently support me to a greater future."

It's impossible to talk about Kelepi Vete without the talking about his twin brother Siosiua Vete. Siosiua, an offensive line prospect, is currently committed to Stanford. Like his brother, he also holds competing offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Cal, and Nevada among others. BYU has offered Siosiua and will surely make their pitch to get both brothers in Provo. Kelepi is also trying to lure his brother to Provo.

"Though my brother is committed to Stanford, we’ve constantly been in talks about both BYU and Stanford," Kelepi said. "I try a lot to convince him to join me at BYU, and sometimes it’ll mix in his mind, but I think we made it clear that we’ll most likely be taking separate paths. My brother had the same ideals as I, but he wanted to be near home and in a place where he’d be able to continue watching my family grow up. As for me, I wanted to leave Oakland, knowing how bad the environment has gotten with the rise of violence terrorizing the city, I just wanted to get out and be in a place where values such as Faith and family were instilled, and know that I’d be in a safer area. Provo ended up being a great fit for that description."

Under new defensive coordinator Jay Hill, the BYU defensive staff has worked tirelessly to improve the talent along the defensive line. Vete is the type of defensive line prospect that BYU will need to compete in the Big 12. He is listed at 6'5 and 250 pounds, he has room to add more good weight, and he's just scratching the surface of his potential. Once he gets to BYU, he will have every opportunity to be developed into a starting-caliber player under Coach Po'uha.

Glad to have competed in the Sky Lineman Camp hosted by @LaneyCollegeFB, big thanks to @beam_coach and the rest of the Laney Staff for inviting us to get some reps in!

@Scout_DL @m_taugavau @CoachTaugavau @OPIN_Football pic.twitter.com/CqkIKqjBh6
— Kelepi Semisi Vete (@KelepiVete) July 28, 2023

Now a BYU commit, Kelepi can't wait for his first game in a BYU uniform. "Now being apart of the BYU family, I’m mostly excited and looking forward to playing my first college game in front my family...I also can’t wait to play under Coach Kalani and Po’uha in a loud and sold out crowd every Saturday night in the fall! As I’ve watched CFB games, I’ve always been curious about how it must feel to play in front of 60,000 people on national television, and now with this opportunity, I can’t wait to be in the shoes of a BYU football player...BYU has the best fans in all of CFB, and I can’t wait to experience the love and support!"

Kelepi is the fifth member of BYU's 2025 recruiting class and the second defensive commit for Jay Hill. He is joined by fellow BYU commits Tyler Payne, Blake Bryce, Cale Breslin, Kelepi Vete, and Will Walker.