I would tell you that there’s probably not a nose guard in the country that doesn’t have a picture on their nightstand of him – BYU offensive line coach Garett Tujague
PROVO — A year ago, BYU's Tejan Koroma was a relative unknown and a seemingly undersized true freshman.
But the brawny kid from Allen, Texas, won the starting center job and he played the most snaps of any Cougar offensive lineman in 2014. Koroma was the only freshman in the nation to start every game at center. He averaged more than five flat-back blocks per game and earned Freshman All-America honors.
Going into the 2015 season, which kicks off Sept. 5 at Nebraska, the 6-foot, 280-pounder — whose arms resemble tree trunks — is no longer flying under the radar. Now, he's a marked man. Everybody knows Koroma’s name and his game.

“I would tell you that there’s probably not a nose guard in the country that doesn’t have a picture on their nightstand of him,” said BYU offensive line coach Garett Tujague. “There’s no more disguising what we think of him. The proof’s right there. It will be great to see how he responds this year. He’s going to have a lot of dudes coming for him.”
Despite all the attention he has received in the past year, Koroma seems unfazed.
“It doesn’t affect me much because my goal is to be the best I can be,” he said. “Hopefully, if I do that, I’ll be happy with my performance and the coaches will be happy with my performance. I don’t care much about what other people are thinking. If I do the best I can, I’ll be pretty good.”
Koroma realizes he still has a lot to learn, and improve on — he was penalized several times last season for personal fouls due to his aggressive approach — as he enters his sophomore campaign.
At the same time, he is far ahead of where he was on the first day of fall camp a year ago.
“Last year, I could barely breathe. Everything was going so fast,” Koroma recalled. “Now, I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but I feel like I’m able to pick up blitzes and direct my fellow offensive linemen. It’s been great. I’m excited about this season. The biggest thing I learned from last year was being able to read the defense, how the linebackers are lined up or where the defensive lineman puts his hand down, small stuff like that. I’ve been able to pick up on that more and make calls based on those small details.”
Tujague liked what he saw from Koroma at the first practice Saturday.
“He’s doing a great job so far of being a good leader out there,” he said. “He’s just fine-tuning his game. With his athletic ability, he was able to take over last year. Now he can play smarter and work on the little things. He had a great offseason and he’s built off that.”
Koroma is part of an experienced offensive line that also includes Kyle Johnson, Tuni Kanuch, Ului Lapuaho, Ryker Mathews and Brad Wilcox.
“The O-line is a great group. We’re so excited to play with each other again,” Koroma said. “It’s easier to play with guys you’ve played with before. I can make a small call and everyone knows what to do. I can trust the guards beside me and I know the tackles will do their job. I know what they’re going to do.”
In his third year overseeing BYU’s offensive line, Tujague is pleased with the strides his linemen have made.
“These guys have done a really good job of building off what the guys before them have done,” he said. “It was about establishing a toughness, a physical nature of play up front. These guys have done a great job adapting to that, being more physical and playing with a chip on their shoulders. It’s been good.”
As a group, the Cougar O-linemen are well-conditioned, thanks in large part to Frank Wintrich, BYU’s new director of football performance.
“In the offseason we did so much cardio,” he said. “We were running almost every day. Coach Wintrich helped us out a lot with our workouts. This fall camp, I feel so much more prepared and ready for the season.”
And, yes, Koroma said he's even stronger than he was last year.
Wintrich’s work with the offensive linemen has been “pivotal,” Tujague said. “The energy has been nice to see on the first day. It’s like seeing what Santa brought you under the Christmas tree.”
Now that he’s a proven center with an impressive résumé, Koroma is looking forward to getting better and helping the experienced offensive line reach its potential.
“It was good to get that rust off,” he said after Saturday’s practice. “Come Monday, I think we’ll be good to go.”
The freshman All-America is eager to show what he can do for an encore.