BYU senior running back Lopini Katoa helped lead American Fork to the 5A state championship game in 2014.

Can you think of anyone better to answer our “20 Questions” feature?

Katoa actually first committed to Oregon State in 2015 but after serving a church mission to Missouri opted to become a Cougar.

You’ve read plenty of fall camp stories about position groups and features on specific athletes. Now get Katoa’s take on his teammates for the 2022 season.

It’s simple, really: We ask an offensive player 20 questions about his teammates and then we ask a defensive player the same 20 questions. The results are simple snapshot of the personalities that will be crossing the goal line and making tackles.

Our defensive representative was senior defensive tackle Lorenzo Fauatea. Now it’s Katoa’s turn.

1 Daily Herald: Who’s the biggest hitter on the team?

Lopini Katoa: “I’m going to say it’s my man (Jr. LB) Keenan Pili, a Timpview guy.”

2. DH: Who’s the fastest?

LK: “I would say maybe (Jr. DB) George Udo. There are a lot of speedsters on the team. Might be (Fr. RB) Miles Davis. It depends how long the run is.”

3. DH: Who’s the craziest? (The Justin Luettgerodt Award)

LK: “Who’s a little unhinged, maybe has a screw loose? I’m going to go with (Jr. LB) Max Tooley. He’s wild. He plays loose and free and he’ll hit anything that’s moving.”

4. DH: Who is the most talented in something other than football?

LK: “I just watched (Jr. DL) Logan Lutui at church yesterday playing the organ. He’s a beast on the keys. He’s really good.”

5. DH: Who’s the smartest? (The Matt Bauman Award)

LK: “All my quick answers are gone. I feel like I should say (So. WR) Talmage Gunther for some reason. It just seems like he’s a smart kid.”

6. DH: Who’s the smoothest with the ladies?

LK: “I would say (Sr. DB) Malik Moore. He’s pretty smooth.”

7. DH: Who THINKS he’s the smoothest with the ladies but really has no game?

LK: “(Sr. RB) Chris Brooks, for sure. I’ll shout out my boy Chris Brooks on that one.”

8. DH: Who does the best coach impression?

LK: “That would be Chris Brooks again. He does Harvey (running backs coach Harvey Unga), he does all the strength coaches like Justin McClure. He’s just got a good ear for it.”

9. DH: Who talks the most trash?

LK: “It’s got to be an offensive lineman. (Sr. OL) Joe Tukuafu, (Jr. OL) Clark Barrington or (Jr. OL) Harris LaChance, one of them. They all like to talk.”

10. DH: Who’s the quietest?

LK: “I want to say (Fr. OL) Tysen Lewis. He speaks but not very often.”

11. DH: Who’s the best dancer? (The Ben “Mongoose” Criddle Award)

LK: “I’m going to go with (Sr. DL) Alden Tofa. I’ll give him that one. I taught him a few things but I’ll still say Alden.”

12. DH: Who’s the worst dancer?

LK: “That would be (Sr. DB) Kaleb Hayes. He tries but that’s not it.”

13. DH: Who’s the funniest?

LK: “I’d have to go with (Fr. WR) Cody Epps or (Fr. QB) Nick Billoups. Those two are clowns. They are both really funny guys.”

14. DH: Who drives the ugliest car? (The JD Falslev Award)

LK: “(Fr. QB) Jacob Conover has a Cougar mini-van. I would say it’s ugliest because I would never drive it but some people might think it’s cool. I could not drive that but it works for him.”

15. DH: Who’s the best at video games?

LK: “Depending on the game? I’m saying like ‘Call of Duty,’ I’m giving that to me. For sports games, I would say Joe Tukuafu, (Jr. WR) Puka Nacua, (Sr. DL) Lorenzo Fauatea or Kebo (So. WR Keanu Hill). There are a bunch of dudes who play. I don’t really play the sports games like that so I couldn’t say.”

16. DH: Who’s the best dressed?

LK: “Malik Moore can get dressed up pretty nice. (Fr. DB) Ethan Slade has some nice drip. (Fr. OL) Kingsley Saumataia has some big man drip. He doesn’t really show out too much but when it does, it’s pretty good.”

17. DH: Who’s the best looking? (The Matt Berry Award)

LK: “I’ll give that to the pretty boy, little Rex. (Fr. WR) Preston Rex. I feel like he’s pulling all the ladies right now.”

18. DH: Who’s got the messiest locker? (The Bracken El-Bakri Award)

LK: “That would be (Sr. FB) Houston Heimuli. I don’t know what he’s doing in there.”

19. DH: Who’s the best basketball player?

LK: “I’ll definitely give that to (Jr. OL) Blake Freeland. He was really good in high school. He can move for a big guy. He can move like a guard. He’s dangerous.”

20. DH: Who’s most likely to be a millionaire in 20 years in something other than football? (The Taysom Hill Award)

LK: “Let’s give a shoutout to (So. RB) Jackson McChesney. Then I want to say (Sr. DL) Pepe Tanuvasa. Man, I can name a bunch of dudes, honestly, for that one. We have a lot of hard workers and a lot of smart dudes.”

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