Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns EDGE Transfer Tausili Akana Commits to Big 12 Team

Former Texas Longhorns linebacker and pass rusher Tausili Akana is heading back to the Big 12.

Matt Galatzan

Oct 28, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Brigham Young quarterback Kedon Slovis (10) leaps after keeping the ball for yards during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Brigham Young quarterback Kedon Slovis (10) leaps after keeping the ball for yards during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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The Texas Longhorns have had a handful of talented players leave Austin and enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

As it happens, a good number of those players came on the defensive side of the ball, including at edge rusher, where Tausili Akana was one of the more notable names to leave the team.

Now, Akana has found a new home, announcing his commitment to the BYU Cougars on his personal X account on Monday.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Akana has played in one game over two seasons with the Longhorns and will have three years of eligibility remaining in Provo. That one appearance came last year in the Longhorns season-opener against the Rice Owls. He did not record a stat in that game.

Akana originally joined the Longhorns as part of a recruiting 2023 class that ranked No. 3 in the nation. In that cycle, he ranked as a four-star recruit, and was slotted as the No. 52 player in the country, the No. 5 linebacker and the No. 2 player in Utah.

The Longhorns had beat out Louisville, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and LSU for his signature, with the Sooners making the biggest push at the end.

In his senior season at Skyridge in Utah, Akana was named the 6A Player of the Year, and earned both first-team all-state and first-team All-Region 4-6A honors. That year, he recorded 70 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, 22 pressures and one forced fumble.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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