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BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa runs through drills March 13, 2025, during the Cougars' spring camp in Provo. The former Utah Utes standout transferred to BYU in the offseason. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo
The BYU-Utah football game is still a long way off and the player in the middle of the rivalry isn’t thinking about it too much — yet. Keanu Tanuvasa started at defensive tackle for the Utes last year and after a transfer, he will start at the same position for BYU when the rivals meet Oct. 18 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
“I haven’t given it much thought because I’m trying to focus on what I can do here,” said the 6-foot-4, 301-pound junior. “My focus is on us, my ability, our team and the unity of us and being the best version of us as opposed to (worrying) about who is coming to us.”
Tanuvasa isn’t the first player to switch sides in the rivalry. Tight end Carsen Ryan made the same move from Utah to BYU this winter. Prior to those two, the last to do it was receiver Samson Nacua, who left the Utes in 2022 and suited up for the Cougars in 2023. He caught a touchdown pass for BYU against Utah in the Cougars’ 26-17 victory.
Other notables to play for both sides in one of college football’s most storied rivalries include linebacker/running back Harvey Langi, who started at Utah and finished at BYU. Linebacker Francis Bernard and defensive end Devin Kaufusi both started their careers in Provo and wrapped them up in Salt Lake City.
Ties that bind
When you consider the staffers, the ties that bind run much deeper. BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Jay Hill, Aaron Roderick, Justin Ena, and Sione Po’uha are all former Utah coaches while Kyle Whittingham, Jason Beck, Freddie Whittingham, Micah Simon and Mark Atuaia are all former Cougars.
“I compare it to brothers that grew up together. When you line up on that basketball court or that football field across from your brother, you want to beat him so bad. You want to compete to the best of your ability, and you want to smash your brother,” Tanuvasa said. “But at the end of the day, you are going to go back to the same house, you are going to eat the same food, and you are going to still love each other. That’s what Utah and BYU are.”
Tanuvasa is all in with his new brothers in Provo, but that doesn’t mean he is over the way last year’s game ended in Salt Lake. He had a pretty good view of BYU’s game-winning drive while he anchored Utah’s defensive line.
The final drive
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Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake talks with Utah Utes defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) after the game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. BYU won 22-21. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Facing second and 10 from their own 19-yard line, Jake Retzlaff took the shot gun snap from Bruce Mitchell and dropped back to pass. Tanuvasa lost his footing and went down, and Mitchell landed on top of him. Retzlaff completed a 30-yard pass to Chase Roberts near mid-field.
On the next play, with 1:19 remaining, Tanuvasa leaped into the air and just missed on deflecting Retzlaff’s pass that sailed into the arms of Darius Lassiter for 11 yards to the Utah 39.
Seconds later, Retzlaff took another shot-gun snap. This time, Tanuvasa broke through the offensive line and lunged toward the BYU quarterback. Retzlaff abruptly pitched the ball to Hinckley Ropati — who darted 14 yards to the 25.
Two plays later, with 50 seconds remaining, Tanuvasa dropped Ropati at the line of scrimmage for no gain. BYU ran the ball again before bringing Will Ferrin into the game to attempt the winning 44-yard field goal.
With the clock ticking inside 10 seconds, Tanuvasa lined up two bodies to the left of BYU center Dalton Riggs with hopes of breaking through the Cougars’ blue wall. As Riggs delivered the ball to the holder, Sam Van Der Haar, the two lines collided, and BYU held its ground. All Tanuvasa could do was extend his left arm as high into the air as possible.
Ferrin kicked the ball over his fingers and split the uprights to win the game 22-21.
“Oh, I was infuriated. I was exhausted. I crashed,” Tanuvasa said. “There are pictures of me on one knee and I’m like, ‘I gave everything in my soul, in my mind and in my physical body to this game.’ So, when he hit that, your brother just beat you on a game winner, man, I was so pissed off. I was like, ‘Who the heck is this kicker?’ And now I see him all the time and I tell him, ‘Man, I still love you even though you freakin’ beat me last year.‘”
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BYU place kicker Will Ferrin (44) kicks and makes a field goal to put the Cougars ahead 22-21 with seconds left on the clock during a game between the University of Utah Utes and the Brigham Young University Cougars held at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City early on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The reunion
Tanuvasa played 24 games and started 19 during two seasons at Utah before transferring to BYU. His reunion in October will be interesting.
“I imagine it will be such a surreal feeling because I know every player on that team, other than the transfers. I have bled with them, I’ve cried with them, I’ve suffered with them, I’ve lost so many games with them, but I’ve won so many,” he said. “It will be surreal because I’m also going through that with these (BYU) players and becoming that with them. I led those guys and now I have an opportunity to lead these guys and be a part of this program.”
What Tanuvasa doesn’t have for the other side is animosity.
“I still see those guys. I’ll still play basketball with them. I’ll still text them and I’ll still send them things on Instagram,” he said. “We still connect, but when it’s time to play, I want to beat my brother. I want to kick his butt.”
The rivalry on the field is intense, but not nearly as personal as what lives year-round on social media.
“I think the fans have the wrong sense of what we have on the field. We get nasty and gritty. I won’t need to be unnecessarily angry at them, because I still love them, but I’m gonna compete my butt off and I hope the fans recognize that,” he said. “If you want to bicker with your brother, that’s fine, but you don’t make family relations personal. I know some people are bitter now because of (their) experiences, but you can set a new tone.”
Friends and foes
Running out of the locker room on that night, to fireworks and the band playing “Rise and Shout,” will be different for Tanuvasa as he watches his former teammates assemble across the way. On occasion, he might even catch himself leaning their way while coming off the field after a defensive series.
“I’ll definitely be looking to their side, looking at Coach Scalley and those guys over there and my boys and (shout) ‘I see you!‘” he said. “I remember what it was like over there, but we are going to compete and I’m going to play my butt off.”
A disciple of the one-game-at-a-time mentality, Tanuvasa prides himself on living in the moment. BYU will play six games before the Utes come to Provo. But when Oct. 18 does arrive, and his old friends show up wearing crimson, Tanuvasa will stand proud in his royal blue — bound and determined to lead his new friends to their third straight victory in the series.
“When I go into battle, I know who is wearing what I’m wearing. I know who I’ve suffered with. That’s where my focus is — can we be the best version of us and it’s never a focus on anybody else because if we focus on them, we lose sight of who we are,” he said. “I’ll just be invigorated, maybe a little bit more, but just to go out with my brothers against someone else who is knocking on our door and trying to get what we want.”
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BYU defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa gets interviewed after practice March 11, 2025,. | Rebeca Fuentes, BYU Photo
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
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