BYU senior tight end Mata’ave Ta’ase excited to return home to face ASU
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- BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase (88) enters the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium before a game with Southern Illinois on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
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- BYU senior tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase scores a touchdown during the Big 12 game against UCF at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
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- BYU players celebrate with senior tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase after he scored a touchdown during the Big 12 game against UCF at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
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- BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase (88) catches a touchdown pass against SMU at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
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- BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase leaps over an SMU defender during a college football game at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
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- BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase carries the ball during a college football game against SMU in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
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- BYU tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase celebrates scoring a touchdown against Southern Illinois at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
The BYU football team officially has one more home game in the 2024 regular season — but Cougar senior tight end Mata’ave Ta’ase kind of has two.
That’s because when BYU heads to Tempe, Arizona, to face Arizona State on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPN), Ta’ase is headed home.
“Yeah, it’s definitely going to be a fun game, just because it’s like 10 minutes away from home,” Ta’ase said during Monday’s press teleconference. “I definitely have history with ASU. My uncle is the associate head coach over there right now. It’ll just be fun to be close to the family and have them all come out.”
He said expects a lot of his family to be in the stands at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
“I have nine siblings and a lot of nieces and nephews and a lot of people who have supported me,” Ta’ase said. “I know a lot of them have gotten their tickets, so there will be a good amount there.”
BYU has nine players who list either Mesa or Chandler, Arizona, as their hometowns and two more from Tuscon, so there are quite a few Cougars who will likely have a lot of family and friends in attendance at the game.
Beyond those direct connections, though, is the underdog mentality both BYU and Arizona State were forced to have coming into the season.
“I feel this connection to them because no one cared about us before the season,” Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake said. “None of you guys even predicted this happening, so to have this game come with a lot of meaning is really cool. That’s a huge compliment to their coaches, staff and fans. It’s going to be fun to go down there and have this matchup. We know there are people in the area that are fans of both, so it’s fun to be in the same conference.”
Despite getting no respect before the season started (BYU was ranked 13th in the Big 12 preseason media poll, while Arizona State was ranked 16th), the outcome of this game will likely decide whether the Cougars or the Sun Devils will reach the conference title game.
“I think it’ll be fun to be a part of the game,” Ta’ase said. “It’s two teams that have similar mentalities. We were both not projected to be where we are at right now, and I think that comes with a mentality that is needed to get to where both teams are at. So it’ll be fun to be able to play against a team that has similar mentality as far as what other people have thought about them. We’re just happy and excited to be able to go to a good fan base and a good team that is having a lot of success, so it’s a good challenge for us.”
He emphasized that even with the connections and the respect the teams have for each other, both are coming in wanting to win.
“At the end of the day, it’s the next game up,” Ta’ase said. “We’re focused on beating Arizona State and preparing for what they have to offer.”
In order to do that, BYU needs to execute at a high level — particularly on offense.
Even though the tight ends haven’t had a huge role in catching passes this season, Ta’ase said that his unit needs to be a big part of that improvement.
“I think everybody in every position wants to get the ball more, but all we’re focused on is executing the plays that are called,” Ta’ase said. “When the ball comes our way, we need to make a play and to go do what we can for the team in that aspect.
“I think more so than anything, us tight ends have an opportunity to affect almost every play that we play. Being able to embrace that and to do our best in those aspects is what matters.”
But he also knows the Arizona State defense is very good and won’t make things easy for the Cougars.
“From the little film that I’ve watched, they’re really high energy, high effort and have a lot of good playmakers on that end,” Ta’ase said. “They’ve got a good coaching staff behind them, and they’re coming off a good amount of a win streak with a lot of momentum on their side. It’ll be a good test for us.”
