BYU Football Lands JUCO Commit To Bolster Defensive Line
Dec 13, 2023, 11:46 PM
BYU football DTs coach Sione Po'uha added to his room with the addition of Luke Toomalatai from the JUCO ranks. (Ryan Sun, Deseret News)
(Ryan Sun, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – Defensive tackle is a pressing need for BYU football in the 2024 offseason. They took a step on Wednesday towards addressing that spot by landing a commitment from a junior college prospect.
Long Beach City College DT Luke Toomalatai announced his commitment to BYU on X.
Committed. @BYUfootball
More sacks, more TFL’s coming to LaVell Edwards Stadium. All God pic.twitter.com/OLvm1R7vLb— LUKE (@LRRToo) December 14, 2023
Toomalatai wrote, “Committed. @BYUfootball More sacks, more TFL’s coming to LaVell Edwards Stadium. All God.”
That’s a welcomed message for a BYU defense that finished last nationally in sacks with 11 in 2023.
BYU football adds Luke Toomalatai from Long Beach City College
The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Toomalatai had 8.5 sacks this fall in the JUCO ranks.
Along with his sacks, Toomalatai had 31 tackles in nine games played.
Toomalatai earned Southern California Football Association National Division All-Central League First-Team honors this past season. He was one of three LBCC players to earn first-team recognition.
Toomalatai picked BYU over reported offers from Houston, Akron, Coastal Carolina, UMass, and San Jose State.
Check me out…Full season sophomore year tape. Tap the link 🚷#JUCOPRODUCT pic.twitter.com/3uWw1fG5zZ
— LUKE (@LRRToo) November 24, 2023
Coming up through the high school ranks, Toomalatai prepped at Liberty High School in Las Vegas. The same school that produced former BYU star Kai Nacua.
Toomalatai signed with Idaho State out of high school in the 2019 recruiting class. He never played for the Bengals. Over the past two years, he’s been at LBCC.
When Toomalatai joins the BYU program for the 2024 season, he will have two years of eligibility remaining.
BYU needs depth at defensive tackle
Toomalatai is added to a defensive tackle unit that lost Jackson Cravens and Atunaisa Mahe to graduation. Caden Haws has not formally made an announcement, but he was also honored at Senior Day last month. It’s a position group that is young and inexperienced outside of returning veteran John Nelson, who is entering his senior season.
The early signing period begins Wednesday, December 20, and runs through Friday, December 22.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
