A Moment with Ex-Husky Wide Receiver Puka Nacua
The University of Washington football team had the services of Puka Nacua for two seasons, as did his hometown BYU. USC was left with a recruiting commitment from him that didn't amount to much.
This personal journey of the gifted and personable wide receiver has brought him to the Super Bowl this weekend as a spectator, basking in a debut NFL season that left him with four league rookie records: most receptions (105) and yards (1,486) in a season, most catches in a game (15) and most yards in a playoff game (181).
In short, Nacua has been sensational every step of the way. The Huskies made him a first-year starter only to lose him to a broken ankle as a freshman and then possibly for virus reasons during the 2020 COVID-shortened season.
Nacua left lasting images of him zipping 65 yards for an instant touchdown with a flat pass against Arizona in an empty Husky Stadium when he wasn't kneeling on a scooter and zipping in and out of the tunnel.
Puka Nacua caught 16 passes for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns at the UW.
Casey Sapio/USA TODAY sports
He went home to Utah to play in front of his family and pile up some big numbers for BYU and become a steal as a fifth-round draft pick and the 177th player taken overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
His secret to success?
"Find a way to maintain your confidence," Nacua told Sports Illustrated on Super Bowl radio row in Las Vegas. "Any Sunday you can go out there and every team is a great team, so you never know how it's going to play out. [It's] keep your confidence going, because it's hard. Guys lose their confidence and everything starts to go away. When you're confident, sticking to the process kind of helps you find a way to success."
Puka Nacua pulls away from the New York Giants secondary as a rookie.
Brad Penner/USA TODAY sports
Nacua has done that, going from 16 receptions for 319 yards and 3 scores at the UW, to 91 catches for 1,486 yards and 11 TDs in his two seasons at BYU to his astronomical numbers with the Rams. He began his NFL career in Seattle with 10 catches for 119 yards for L.A. in a 30-13 victory over the Seahawks.
Now he's an NFL star, chalking up endorsements such as the one that put a Pepsi jacket on him for his sit-down uniform in Vegas, mixing it up with legends such as Michael Irvin.
Asked for a Super Bowl prediction, Nacua took into consideration that the San Francisco 49ers are a hated rival for him now.
"I got the Chiefs," he said with a smile. "I can't go with the Niners."
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