As summer trudges slowly towards the beginning of the college football season, the offseason continues to bring unfortunate surprises for the BYU Cougars.
Star BYU safety Faletau Satuala has fractured his foot and will be unable to practice for at least eight weeks, the Deseret News reported.
BYU is adjusting to a new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga after previous coordinator Jay Hill left for Michigan. The loss of Satuala extending beyond fall camp and further into the season would call for other players to step up to the challenge.
The 6-foot-4 star safety played a major role in the Cougars defense, leading the team with 84 total tackles. He ended the season with three interceptions, including a pick six, two forced fumbles and 47 solo tackles.
However, Satuala’s counterpart Raider Damuni projected to start as the other BYU safety position and a strong mix of backups won’t leave the Cougars out to dry.
“It’s kind of me, Raider (Damuni) and Tommy (Prassas) turn to step up,” said Satuala in a spring ball interview. “It’s fun to have all the different knowledge and experiences from different people in our room.”
Prassas had limited playing time this past season due to injury. However, he became a household name after scoring a game-changing scoop-and-score touchdown against No. 13 Kansas State in 2024.
Other notable names in the safeties room are sophomores Jarinn Kalama and Matthias Leach, along with freshman newcomer Kennan Pula.
Pula was rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports and played on both sides of the ball during high school.
No matter who wins the open spot, Poppinga and the Cougar defense are going to have to make some adjustments in preparation for opening the season without their star safety.