Cougs Daily

DL Semi Tualanga Locks in BYU Official Visit

Semi Tualanga is a defensive tackle from Mater Dei High School

Casey Lundquist

Nov 18, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Official referee Derek Anderson reviews a play between the Brigham
Nov 18, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Official referee Derek Anderson reviews a play between the Brigham / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, BYU offered California defensive tackle prospect Semi Tualanga. It didn't take long for Tualanga to lock in a BYU official visit after picking up the offer. On Wednesday, Tualanga announced his plans to officially visit BYU.

Tualanga preps at one of the top high school football programs in the country: Mater Dei High School.
Mater Dei produces dozens of collegiate prospects every year. Mater Dei is the alma mater of current BYU wide receiver Kody Epps.

Tualanga has picked up competing offers from UCLA, Pitt, Oregon State, Washington State, San Diego State, UNLV, San Jose State, and Charlotte during his recruitment. Getting Tualanga on campus for an official visit immediately makes BYU one of the top contenders in his recruitment.

Tualanga is a little undersized for a defensive tackle at 6'1, but he makes up for his lack of size with effort, speed, and technique. Tualanga uses his hands to shed blocks much better than most defensive tackle prospects in high school and his pass rushing skills are refined. His effort was on display in this clip below.

As a junior, Tualanga racked up 61 total tackles including 13 tackles for loss. He also tallied 11 sacks.

The Cougars have been looking to bolster the defensive line ever since Jay Hill was hired as BYU's defensive coordinator. Sione Po'uha has been busy trying to fill the 2025 class with Big 12-caliber defensive tackles and Tualanga fits that description. BYU already picked up a commitment from Sacramento native Kelepi Vete. Getting both Tualanga and Vete in the same class would bode very well for the future of BYU's defensive line.

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Casey Lundquist

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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