PROVO — Getting to where he’s at has been a challenge, but now that he’s there, Atunaisa Mahe appears poised to add considerably to BYU’s defensive front in the coming years.
The 6-foot-1, 307-pound lineman was perhaps one of the few bright spots for the Cougars in their 30-12 loss at the hands of Utah last Thursday in what was his first live action since playing for West Jordan back in 2015. Through it all Mahe showed well and looks to warrant more playing time moving forward.
“I was nervous, a little bit, but it went away fast after that first play,” Mahe said. “I didn’t know I was going to play as much as I did, and I made too many mistakes, but overall I’m glad I could help. I just want to get better and better to help out as best I can for our team.”
“Sometimes I think I may have jumped in too fast, but I also believe God makes everything happen for a reason. It’s just my job to make the most of whatever situation I’m put in and to learn from my trials.” — BYU defensive lineman Atunaisa Mahe
Another perhaps nerve-wracking experience for Mahe came with opening his mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shortly following his senior high school football season. Surrounded by his Tongan family, Mahe could have been called just about anywhere in the world, but soon learned he’d be serving two years in his family’s native country.
“It was wonderful — truly a dream come true,” Mahe said. “It was a tear-jerker for sure. My whole family was crying and it was an unbelievable blessing not to just be able to serve a mission, but to go serve in Tonga.”
Mahe was adopted and raised by his grandparents in Utah, leaving behind several family members in Tonga, a lot of whom he was able to connect with during his two-year service.
“I was able to learn so many things about my family’s culture that I didn’t really know and even got to meet two of my brothers I’d never met before,” Mahe said. “One of the best things, though, was learning the language and being able to talk with my grandparents in Tongan. That’s been a huge blessing.”
Mahe was put on the fast track immediately after returning home on June 23, 2018, arriving at BYU just two days later to begin preparations for both football and school.
His accelerated acclimation period to the grind of college football didn’t turn out all that well, however.
Just two or three weeks into Mahe’s initial practice session, he incurred his first of two significant injuries which ultimately kept him on the sidelines throughout the 2018 season.
“Sometimes I think I may have jumped in too fast, but I also believe God makes everything happen for a reason,” Mahe said. “It’s just my job to make the most of whatever situation I’m put in and to learn from my trials.”
Making the most of it involved a lot of study and taking mental reps throughout practice sessions. Fortunately, Mahe had several teammates more than willing to help his development, with junior Khyiris Tonga the most prominent among them.
The Atunaisa Mahe file
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- Redshirted in 2018
- Served a mission in Tonga
- Played at West Jordan High
- Earned 2015 Deseret News 5A All-State honorable mention honors
- Also played rugby at West Jordan
“The goal is Khyiris with just about everything.” Mahe said. “Khyiris has been a huge help to me, along with a lot of the other guys. They helped me so much with teaching me after every practice — making sure I was taking the right mental reps with everything. I just hope to follow Khyiris’ example and the rest of my older teammates.”
Mahe also lended a lot of credit to Tevita Mo’Unga, who has since left BYU’s program.
Now that he’s serviceable, coaches have been impressed with the strides he’s made leading up to his first game experience versus the Utes.
“He’s a phenomenal kid who has done a great job with his development,” said BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki. “He’s not as tall or as big as some of these other linemen, so he’s got to play with good hands and technique, which he’s doing well with. There were flashes in this last game of him being a special player in the near future. He’s earned it.”
As for Mahe, he hopes to just keep his nose down and grind away with a goal of showing forth all of his potential.
“Physically I know I can do a lot better,” Mahe said. “I still have so much to improve on with not just my strength, but my knowledge of our system and just everything. I just want to work as hard as I can to reach my potential.”