In the lead-up to the fall football practice session we’ll be previewing 15 such players whose contribution and progress throughout August will very likely play big in determining how successful of a team BYU proves to be in 2026.

Justin Kirkland

6-3 335 RS-Sr. DT

West Haven, UT.

Dictating the terms of engagement along the point of attack along the line of scrimmage can play huge during the course of any football game, and BYU hopes to improve upon this facet throughout the coming 2026 season. It’s not that the Cougars weren’t good at doing as much last season, mind you, as the run defense proved relatively stout with the defensive line, in general, showing more apt in applying pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback than in recent years.

Still, the onus was pretty much rested squarely on Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa to hold the line at the point of the attack, and while he proved effective, he’ll be grateful to have help this coming season in the form of Justin Kirkland.

Kirkland is a mammoth interior lineman who transferred over from Oklahoma State just prior to last season. Problem was he came in with a fairly significant lower body injury that he never truly got over throughout the course of the season. Sure, the Roy High product did see some playing time midseason, but after proving relatively ineffective he was shelved for the latter part of the season with the hope that he could regain his form for an unanticipated second season in Provo.

As could well be imagined, perhaps no one is as excited regarding Kirkland’s return as Tanuvasa himself.

“Last year was was amazing, and I wouldn’t discredit it at all. I learned a lot and needed to go through a lot to be where I am today,” Tanuvasa said at the close of spring practices. “But now with guys like Justin Kirkland, who are healthy and are playing a true nose guard, because that’s what he’ll play in the NFL, it’s been freeing. I mean, I mean not just mentally, but with the physicality in my role.”

Yes, Kirkland’s presence should take a lot of the physical toll off of Tanuvasa that he endured last season while freeing the Utah transfer up to make more plays.

“I get to play almost really as free as I’ve ever been in that (off-the-ball) technique, which means I’m immediately in the backfield, immediately into a path,” Tanuvasa described enthusiastically. “I’ll rush if I need to. I got guys I can rotate with that I know will be barely less of a drop off, if at all, and it just switches it up throughout the game … So it forces a lot of great freedom on my behalf, and it really excites me for the for this season.”

But it’s not just for Tanuvasa’s benefit. Should Kirkland play to his potential, it will go a long way in enhancing the Cougar defense’s overall effectiveness in freeing up players far beyond just Tanuvasa. It’s for this reason that Kirkland’s performance one of the more pivotal ones on the entire team for the 2026 football season.