Since they are involved in stopping both the run and the pass, linebackers generally get the most tackles for a college football team’s defense.

Thus it’s not surprising that BYU’s top trio of tacklers so far all come from that unit: sophomore Harrison Taggart (15), junior Jack Kelly (14) and sophomore Isaiah Glasker (12).

“I love that they’re playing really hard,” BYU linebackers coach Justin Ena said after practice on Tuesday. “I still expect more physicality and violence. I think they’re becoming more assignment sound with every rep as they start putting that into their belt. Glasker was never really a full-time starter. Harry (Taggart) maybe started two games last year, and then we had Jack (Kelly), who was a transfer. So having those guys just kind of gel together, it’s been really nice.”

Look a little deeper and you find that other Cougar linebackers have also come in and made a difference, including junior Sione Moa, senior Choe Bryant-Strothers, Aisea Moa and Siale Esera.

“It’s a really tight knit group this year and it’s fun,” Taggart said after practice on Tuesday. “It’s awesome having a dude or two dudes behind you who you trust to go in there and get that stop, get the ball over to the offense. Having the trust that we can get our legs back for the next drive is awesome.”

Ena has been very impressed by the Moa brothers and how they are getting settled into their positions.

“Sione Moa has done a really good job,” Ena said. “He had a heck of a fall camp and pushed (Taggart) a lot of the times. It was kind of going back and forth a little bit. I love Sione. I have no issues of playing him whatsoever.

“I think Aisea Moa, his brother, has been a great addition to the linebacker crew, moving from the end to linebacker. He’s leaned out about another 15 to 20 pounds. He’s still learning a little bit of the nuances of it, but it’s nice having a built-in coach in his brother living with him and being there.”

He also sees Bryant-Strother finding his place after he transferred in from UCLA.

“He’s done a really good job as well,” Ena said. “He’s still learning how we do it here at BYU, but he’s starting to get this. I love his athleticism. He moves well but is just still learning a little bit of the fine details to be great here.”

And he believes the Cougars can go even deeper on the bench at the position because the next group is ready as well.

“There’s another three or four guys behind the guys I just talked about,” Ena said. “You’ve got Ace Kaufusi, who’s done an amazing job. You’ve got Siale Esera, who’s done a great job as well. Miles Hall is going to be a star and he’s only a redshirt freshman. There’s a lot of guys in that whole room who are competing and getting better. It’s a great room too, because they’re good boys.”

Perhaps the toughest challenge is dividing out the game-time opportunities, but Ena said he’s looking at both the short-term and long-term possibilities for his players.

“It’s beautiful that I’ve got a lot of guys who are young and want to keep on getting better,” Ena said. “What I’d love to do is just keep making that rotation even bigger and better, so these guys aren’t going to get winded after seven or eight plays. I can just switch out and get another three or four guys in there. That’ll be a fun thing.”

He agreed that as player he wanted to be on the field as much as possible but said there is a balance to strike with minimizing the massive collisions that can shorten careers.

“The Power 4 conferences are putting the very best players out there,” Ena said. “You let these guys show what they can do with reps, but then you are also saving their bodies for the future so they can play in the NFL. I’ve coached guys before who are still playing who probably wouldn’t be if they had played every single down.”

Taggart said that to him it’s about trusting that coaches like Ena know what they are doing.

“I trust Coach Ena and I trust the next guys,” Taggart said. “I could care less. As long as the coaches do what they see is best, I’m game for all of it.”

The linebackers will have their hands full this weekend when BYU hosts No. 13-ranked Kansas State at LaVell Edwards Stadium (8:30 p.m. MT, ESPN), but Ena said these are the moments he loved as a player.

“There is not a better feeling of just performing, doing your job, and then just hopefully ending dominant and leaving that field,” Ena said. “I remember seeing them after the SMU and even the Wyoming games, seeing those boys give everything they got, seeing them in the locker room as they are just ragged and tired. But there’s that joy, there’s that confidence in their heart, and that’s that gives me a lot of joy in my heart as well.”