I’m going to be sitting with the BYU recruits…But it’s tough. I’m going to support Samson, but if BYU wins, I’m going to cheer because I’m cheering for both. – Puka Nacua
OREM — A lot of families will deal with divided loyalty when BYU hosts Utah at LaVell Edwards Stadium Saturday night.
But there won’t be many hearts as divided as Puka Nacua’s.
The Orem senior grew up a Cougar fan, lives in a home decorated with BYU memorabilia and has had two older brothers play for the school his parents have loved all of his life.
But the brother to whom he is closest, Samson, plays for Utah, so the Tigers' wide receiver and safety said this week is both awesome and agonizing for him.
“It’s a tough one,” said Nacua, who is being recruited by both schools, as well as several other Pac-12 programs. “I’m going to be sitting with the BYU recruits…But it’s tough. I’m going to support Samson, but if BYU wins, I’m going to cheer because I’m cheering for both.” In fact, while his mom will be dressed in red to support Samson, who is expected to start at wide receiver for Utah, Puka said he’s going with something neutral.
“I’ll probably be wearing something white or black,” he said with a shrug. “I’m excited. I think it will be a good game. BYU struggled a little bit in their first game, but LSU is a good challenge. … Even Utah struggled a little bit against North Dakota. … So it will be a good game.”
While Puka is torn, Samson has something to prove in Saturday’s game. The Timpview standout said he wanted to follow his two older brothers to BYU, but the Cougars didn’t recruit him. So he chose Utah, and that snub, he admitted, only adds fuel to an already raging competitive fire.
“I’m not nervous,” said Samson, who is sporting new hair color — the purplish-blue and pink of his favorite Baskin-Robbins flavor — Wild 'n Reckless Sherbet. “I’m excited. This is what I’ve been waiting for since last year. I was hoping to get the opportunity to play against my brother and the Cougars, but I didn’t. This is my year to shine, and show them what they missed out on and what I can do.”
Puka said growing up with three older brothers fostered his competitive nature, cemented his passion for football, and gave him role models, confidants and combatants.
“It’s so competitive,” he said laughing. “I remember when we first moved (to Utah from Las Vegas), it was like a family home evening thing, and we were playing baseball. Samson hit me with a pitch. I was super angry, but I didn’t do anything. Later, he throws one, and I frickin’ hit it as far as I could. I was like, ‘Take that!’ and I threw the bat at him. The game was stopped because of what we were doing, and we went home.”
Pick-up basketball in front of the family home is a blood sport.
“It’s kill or be killed,” he said laughing at the memory of playing with his brothers — Kai, who just made the Cleveland Browns practice squad; Isaiah, who is serving a LDS mission in Colorado; and Samson, a redshirt freshman at Utah. “If you dunk on someone, you better expect to be dunked on next.”
They also have a younger brother, but he really broke the mold and took up golf.
Samson said Kai called him Monday to talk to — or taunt — him about the game.
“He was giving me a little crap,” Samson said grinning. “He’s like, ‘Be ready coming across the middle because you’re going to get hit.’ And he’s trash talking me about it.”
Both Puka and Samson wish Samson was able to play in last year’s game because they wanted a Kai vs. Samson showdown.
Puka said Kai would have volunteered to play special teams just to get a shot at tackling his younger brother. Samson said he has no doubt that Kai would have hit him every bit as hard as he hit any other opponent. Well, if he could.
“If he had the chance (to hit me), he would for sure,” Samson said. “I don’t think I would let him. I’d run over him or something.”
Puka laughs at that, admitting, “That sounds like Samson, but I’m not sure about that.”
The game isn’t the only thing that has Puka Nacua torn in half. The recruiting process is brutal because he said he’d love to play with his brother, but he’d also relish the chance to follow in Kai’s footsteps and play at the school they grew up loving.
“There are definitely more Cougars,” Samson said of his family. “I’m trying to get him up here with me. ... My family is all Cougar fans. Every time I go back home, I see a bunch of Y stuff all over my house. I try ripping it down, but my mom always stops me. I’m just trying to get everyone in my family to change slowly to Utah fans.”
Puka said his older brothers offer him their reasons why he should choose the schools they love. Those brothers, while similar in toughness and talent, are polar opposites when it comes to personality.
“Kai is kind of quiet, unless he needs to say something,” Puka said of the linebacker. “He’s kind of, I don’t know, he’s scary. He’s like the person in the back of the room and everyone knows who he is, but no one has the guts to approach him because they know he might kill you or something. That’s kind of how I think of Kai.”
He laughs.
“And then Samson is like the weird kid,” Puka says, then nearly loses his ability to talk as he laughs at Samson’s antics. “He dresses like a clown every day with his hair, and he’s just so outgoing. … Samson has always been outgoing ever since our first year of playing football. He’s just like, ‘I’ll talk to anybody and everybody; I love everybody.’ That’s just how he is.”
Puka beams with pride when talking about all three of his older brothers. He’s proud of how hard Samson worked to earn a starting role in Utah’s new high-octane offense. He’s proud of Kai’s dedication in making an NFL roster.
“I look up to (Kai) so much,” he said. “I’m really proud of him just making a team and sticking through it. I know he was really bummed when he didn’t get drafted, but he’s fighting strong and he made the practice squad. He’s loving it.”
Puka says his personality is somewhere between Samson’s and Kai’s, but Puka says emotionally, he’s closest to Samson.
“We have a closer relationship because we kind of have a love-love relationship,” Puka said. “There was no hate between us. … I mean, sometimes you want to hate him, but then he just starts laughing and just joking, and it’s like, ‘OK, I don’t hate you anymore.’”
Samson jokingly pokes fun at Kai, but he also admires his brother’s work ethic and toughness. He said the difference in the two oldest boys and him and Puka is most evident in the positions they favor. Both older boys play defense, while Puka and Samson are wide receivers.
“They’re definitely a lot meaner,” Samson said. “They’re definitely more serious about things too. I have colorful hair, and they’re not about that. They’re just about doing the work and getting it done. I’m trying to have more fun with everything, so offense fits me more.”
After he survives the rivalry game, Puka says he’ll take his official visits, neither of which will be Utah or BYU. But don’t expect him to announce his intentions anytime soon.
“I just don’t know,” he said, explaining why he is wearing old-fashioned science goggles to watch film with his teammates. “Probably Signing Day,” he said. “I mean, I love Samson and it would be so cool to play with him, especially because we play the same position. He could be on one side of the ball, and I could be on the other. Not a lot of people get a chance to do that.
"But I love BYU too.”