The BYU Cougars football team is hoping they can maintain the standard they set on defense a season ago when they went 11-2.
Here was how the BYU defense ranked last season in FBS:
Points allowed per game: 19.6 (No. 18)
Rushing yards allowed per game: 126.3 (No. 33)
Passing yards allowed per game: 182.5 (No. 20)
Total yards allowed per game: 308.5 (No. 13).
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill — who guided that defense a season ago — has just three returning starters as the Cougars prepare for the 2025 season.
Here are three defensive players to keep an eye on for the BYU Cougars.
DE Logan Lutui
The Cougars are without Tyler Batty, who was their best pass rusher a year ago and is now in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Those are considerable shoes to fill and there are no returning starters up front.
When it comes to speed rusher, Lutui is going to get a crack at it. He’s 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, so he fits the mold. He’s entering his sixth season of college football. He started his career at Weber State, played two seasons there and then transferred to BYU.
He has 2.5 career sacks. So, if he has the kind of season that Batty had a year ago, it will be revelatory for the Cougars.
LB Jack Kelly
Kelly was selected as a first team and a third-team all-Big 12 performer by two different publications last year. The coaches selected him a Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year Honorable Mention.
Like Lutui, he played at Weber State. He was there for three seasons before he transferred to BYU. He finished last season with 51 tackles and five sacks. While he was at Weber State he had 16 combined sacks.
He also set a BYU record in the last 25 years for most quarterback hurries in a season with 14. He influences what the quarterback does even more than getting him to the ground. He could have a huge season in 2025.
CB Mory Bamba
Bamba has been around a bit. He started his college career with ASA College in Miami, a community college. After that he transferred to Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas.
He’s played the last three seasons for the Cougars, and 2024 was his most productive. He had 17 tackles in 10 games, with four pass break-ups.
But this season the Cougars need him to take it up a notch, so to speak. The only returning starter in the secondary is safety Tanner Wall. Bamba’s 6-foot-3 frame is perfect to defend the tall, athletic wide receivers in the Big 12. If he proves he can do so on a consistent level, he can help this defense achieve good things.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
