Ties that bind: Utah holds a lot of familiarity and admiration for Tanuvasa
-
- BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) blocks a pass attempt against Iowa State in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026.
-
- BYU’s Keanu Tanuvasa sacks Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
-
- BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) tackles Arizona’s Kedrick Reescano in a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
-
- BYU defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa fights for position during the game against Notre Dame at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.
Every year there’s a great narrative regarding just how close the personal ties between more than several BYU players and coaches are with those at Utah, although few can touch the connections still intact for Cougar defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa.
Of course those connections are implied when a player spends his first two seasons playing for Utah before finishing out to play for BYU, like Tanuvasa has. But perhaps somewhat surprising is how the connections Tanuvasa developed with Utah have endured despite making what could easily be considered a traitorous move by transferring to Utah’s heated rival.
Tanuvasa revealed during Monday’s press conferences, as BYU prepares to take on Utah this coming Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, just how strong some of his relationships at Utah still are, and particularly with Ute head coach Morgan Scalley.
“He was at my wedding. He was there when I got sealed, and he’s been a mentor to me,” Tanuvasa related. “He’s a very deliberate and intentional man that I admire and adore. So, I’m excited to go take the field on the opposing side of him being the head coach because anytime I can be around him, I’m excited.”
Tanuvasa understands that most of Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the Ute faithful who will fill most of the seats, very much are looking forward to seeing him, although perhaps for different reasons. But despite the acrimony Tanuvasa is almost certain to encounter from Ute fans, he remained positive regarding the prospect of playing at was once his home turf, but this time dressed in royal blue.
“Rice-Eccles is a phenomenal place to play, and it’s one of my favorite stadiums in the entire country,” he said. “Being back there is just a lot of excitement. They have a great team. I know their offensive line very well and they’re a freaking great bunch of guys that have huge effort, and I’ve seen that since they were young players. So I just have a lot of excitement, you know? I think the game that we play is a boy’s game and we have a lot of fun doing it. So, I’m just go excited to go line it up.”
Also causing great excitement for Tanuvasa these days is the prospect of welcoming his first son into the world, with his wife’s delivery date fast-approaching.
“I got my trainers on standby with my phone to alert me if I need to run off the field and miss any practice in order to go to attend the hospital,” Tanuvasa shared. “We’ve got six days, so realistically any day baby boy could be here. So, I’m just again living in excitement.”
Will LJ Martin play?
Of course the most pressing news around BYU football this coming week is the availability of running back LJ Martin, who has been sorely missed in the lineup since leaving BYU’s win over TCU early with injury. Last week versus Arizona State the Cougar ground game struggled mightily making the potential return of Martin to the lineup perhaps even more pressing than believed prior to last Saturday’s outcome.
“We’re going to evaluate the next couple days and then see how it looks,” Sitake said. “He’s working hard and, you know, I think the next 48 hours we’ll be able to see so much more from that. I’ll probably have more to to tell you by then.”
Martin suffered an apparent injury to his leg during the second quarter of play for the Horned Frogs during a game that was played back on October 3 with the initial recovery time originally reported to be 4-6 weeks which could make Martin available to take the field versus Utah.
With regards to other injuries on the team — most notably the leg injury cornerback Evan Johnson sustained during BYU’s loss to UCF which left him on the sidelines last week versus Arizona State, Sitake offered no specifics.
“I think we have guys that are definitely not out,” Sitake offered. “The next couple days are going to be the key factor in all of it. I don’t know if you can play if you don’t practice Tuesday and Wednesday. We basically don’t play our guys if they’re not on the field that way.”
Neither Martin or Johnson were listed on the depth chart that was released on Monday.
Up and Adam
BYU’s game versus Utah will kickoff at 10 a.m. local time, which is much earlier than just about everyone anticipated, although from Kalani Sitake’s perspective, he downplayed any suggestion that it will impact the course of play much.
“I think you just adjust your schedule, but I don’t think it really makes that big of a difference,” Kalani said. “I think it’s more of an adjustment for the fans that to get up and (do some) early tailgating, and I think the the the menu is probably more breakfast stuff … I like ribs anytime of day, even in the morning. So, I think maybe the menu changes a little bit, but overall, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
BYU last played a local game with a 10 a.m start time back in 2023 when taking a 31-24 loss to Oklahoma at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
