Cougs Daily

BYU WR Tei Nacua Makes Highlight Catch Reminiscent of His Brother Puka

Tei Nacua has shown flashes in his first Fall camp at BYU

Casey Lundquist

Tei Nacua catches a pass at BYU Fall camp
Tei Nacua catches a pass at BYU Fall camp / BYU Photo
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The third week of Fall camp continues on for the BYU football program. On Tuesday, the media was not permitted to watch any portion of practice. After practice, however, the official BYU Football account released a few practice clips on Instagram. There were a few notable highlights, including an acrobatic catch from true freshman wide receiver Tei Nacua.

Nacua was being covered by fellow true freshman corner Tre Alexander. Nacua absorbed some contact, created enough separation to tip the ball, then caught the tipped ball before it hit the ground.

The catch was very similar to the game-winning catch his older brother Puka made against Boise State. With 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter in 2022, BYU faced a 4th & Goal from the Boise State six yard-line. The Cougars, who trailed 28-24, had failed to take advantage of multiple redzone opportunities earlier in the game. With the game on the line, BYU offensive coordinator put the game in the hands of his two best players: Puka Nacua and Jaren Hall.

Hall threw a fade to the corner of the endzone to Nacua. With a Boise State cornerback draped all over him (missed PI notwithstanding), Nacua grabbed the ball out of the air with one hand. After a few bobbles, Nacua got control of the ball just before falling out of bounds. The referee stood two or three yards away from play when he ruled the catch a touchdown.

Tei Nacua was not a four-star recruit like Puka was coming out of high school and he is more raw than both Puka and Samson were as freshmen. However, Tei has shown flashes throughout Fall camp. He is part of a very deep wide receiver room, but he has the chance to be a starting-caliber wide receiver for BYU down the road.

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Casey Lundquist

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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