PROVO — One of the surprises of BYU's fall camp was the emergence of Bracken El-Bakri at defensive tackle.
The redshirt sophomore walk-on out of Brighton High is slated to start when the Cougars open the season at Arizona Saturday (8:45 p.m., MDT, ESPN).
It’s been quite a meteoric rise considering that El-Bakri was temporarily moved to fullback during the middle of last season. Then coming out of spring ball, he was listed third on the depth chart at defensive tackle behind Tevita Mo’Unga, who is redshirting this season, and Lorenzo Fauatea, who is now the third-string nose tackle.
Did El-Bakri expect to move so quickly up the depth chart?
“I did, but I don’t think anybody else did. I was just excited to hit the field and show the coaches what I could do,” El-Bakri said. “I felt strong and fast and that I had an opportunity to at least help the team in some way.”
He’s done a really good job. The development potential was always there. He did a really good job gaining the weight and getting stronger. – BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki on defensive lineman Bracken El-Bakri
Last year, he realized a dream during a loss at Mississippi State when, as a redshirt freshman, he played in the same backfield with his older brother, Brayden, the Cougars’ starting fullback.
“They needed someone to block for Brayden because he was going to be playing some at tailback. I wasn’t playing a lot on the D-line,” Bracken said. “The coaches told me, ‘We might as well use you where we can.’ Another reason they moved me was that Brayden could teach me the plays at night. To catch up on the offense in three days was tough. I knew that Saturday at Mississippi State, I’d better know my stuff.”
Before the season ended, defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki made sure Bracken El-Bakri knew his future was on the defensive side of the ball.
It’s not that El-Bakri was flying under the radar on the defensive line as far as the team was concerned.
“We were doing a game with the offensive line,” defensive end Corbin Kaufusi recalled this week in regard to something that happened in practice last year. “We run a game and they have to block it. We were doing twists and what-not. (El-Bakri) came out of nowhere and just lit up center Tejan Koroma — put him flat on his butt. That didn’t happen to Tejan often because he’s a dog too. The coaches realized this guy has a little extra juice. It’s been fun to see him get to where he is now.”
In order to get to where El-Bakri is now, he spent time during the offseason putting on weight.
Listed at 261 pounds last year, the 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore has bulked up to 285 pounds. During certain times during the offseason, in an effort to put on weight, El-Bakri would set his alarm for 2:30 or 3 a.m. to drink a 2,000-calorie protein shake.
During fall camp, El-Bakri impressed his teammates and his coaches.
“Bracken has come a long way. He’s proven himself, definitely. He’s a walk-on and what’s incredible is he’s taken upon himself that leadership role,” said linebacker Butch Pau’u. “When we’re in the weight room, he’s motivating guys to do more than they think he can. He’s one of the first guys there at practice and one of the last to leave. He’s fought for the spot. I’m so proud of that guy that he’s earned it. He’s going to have a great season starting at that defensive tackle spot.”
“He’s done a really good job. The development potential was always there. He did a really good job gaining the weight and getting stronger,” Tuiaki said. “He had a really good off-season. Right now, he’s been the most consistent. We’ve got a lot of guys that we trust putting in the game but Bracken is one of the guys we feel is the most consistent.”
Though Bracken El-Bakri is not on scholarship, that could change if he makes plays in games like he did during fall camp.
During the offseason, Brayden, a senior walk-on, finally received a scholarship.
“That gives you motivation that it can happen,” Bracken said. “There’s one that did."
El-Bakri plans to follow his older brother’s example and show what he can do on the field.
"I hope to be a big contributor. We (on the defensive line) rotate a lot so we’ll all contribute,” he said. “In some ways, it’s a kind of a piece of pride. People say, ‘Doesn’t it make you mad? You’re playing and other guys have scholarships?’ But I feel more prideful. You know what? Nobody wanted me here but I got my way in here. It doesn’t bother me. I hope to earn (a scholarship) someday if I prove myself.”
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Cougars on the air
BYU (0-0) at Arizona (0-0)
Saturday, 8:45 p.m. MDT
Arizona Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM