Four-Star Signee Naki Tuakoi Was With BYU At the Alamo Bowl

Casey Lundquist | Dec 29, 2024

BYU warms up for the Alamo Bowl against Colorado / BYU Photo

One of BYU's top signees of the 2024 signing class, four-star edge Naki Tuakoi, was unable to get enrolled before the start of the 2024 season. Tuakoi was at the Alamo Bowl with BYU and it appears he will be ready to participate in 2025 Spring camp. Mitch Harper of KSL Sports captured a photo of Tuakoi in his uniform chatting with defensive coordinator Jay Hill after the game.

Noteworthy nugget from Mitch here. Naki Tuakoi was one of the top signees of the 2024 class but he never enrolled before the season started.

Looks like he’ll be ready to roll in 2025. https://t.co/6gr3dmpUF7

— Casey Lundquist (@casey_lundquist) December 29, 2024

Tuakoi, a four-star prospect according to Rivals and ESPN, committed to BYU over competing offers from Stanford, Oregon, Oklahoma, Tennessee, USC, Utah, Michigan State, Maryland, Arizona, and Arizona State among others.

Tuakoi kept his recruitment very quiet throughout the process. He backed off his Stanford commitment in October of 2023. He quietly took an official visit to BYU before locking in his commitment.

Tuakoi kept things so quiet, in fact, that few BYU fans knew about him before signing day in December of 2024. Even though he flew relatively under the radar during his recruitment, Tuakoi is a great player that could factor in early in his BYU career. Tuakoi is listed as an edge by 247Sports. BYU announced him as a linebacker on signing day. Depending on his physical development, he could end up as a defensive end or a linebacker. Either way, his physicality and athleticism will make him an asset in Jay Hill's. Tuakoi was an important piece of a really impressive defensive class.

BYU returns a lot of production at linebacker in 2025. Tuakoi can either bolster the depth at that position, or move to edge where BYU loses 2024 starters Tyler Batty, Isaiah Bagnah, and Logan Lutui.