New BYU defensive tackle Anisi Purcell wants everyone to know that his marriage proposal on the night of Aug. 30 was planned well in advance.
Getting a sack in his first game as a Cougar hours before he became engaged to Southern Utah softball player Michelle De la Cruz just made it that much more special.
“Crazy, how it all worked out,” Purcell said a few days after recording three tackles, including the sack for a 6-yard loss, in BYU’s 69-0 drubbing of Portland State. “It was a fun night. Getting that sack was just icing on the cake.”
De la Cruz, a sophomore catcher and utility player from Las Vegas, said yes, Purcell reported, while also noting his new fiancee was “surprised and then cried a lot” when he proposed after the season opener under a gazebo with dozens of friends and family members present.
The now-engaged couple met at SUU, where Purcell — who prepped at Bountiful High — played defensive tackle for the Thunderbirds in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He made 19 starts at SUU, totaling 52 tackles, five sacks and 11 TFLs.
De la Cruz is still living in Cedar City, which is about a three-hour drive from Provo.
“We are doing a medium-distance relationship, making that work out,” Purcell said.
Another BYU defensive lineman, sophomore Viliami Po’uha, also got engaged earlier this month. Coincidentally, Po’uha and Purcell are housemates, prompting fellow defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa to joke that the duo “tends to do a lot of things together” but made their proposals on different nights.
“We’re brothers beyond the field, and so we talk and we advise them,” said Tanuvasa, the transfer from Utah. “I’ve been married for five months now, so I try to give him some (advice) on what to expect and how to have the best experience.”
Tanuvasa’s arrival at BYU sparked a firestorm of debate between BYU and Utah fans, and has been highly publicized. Purcell’s transfer from SUU got little attention, but greatly adds much-needed depth and size to BYU’s interior line, according to defensive line coach Sione Po’uha, Viliami’s father.
“Anisi makes us deeper, bigger and better,” Sione Po’uha said. “He will help us. We will continue to sharpen their skills and their understanding and execution of the defense.”
Another key defensive line acquisition, Oklahoma State transfer Justin Kirkland, has yet to suit up for the Cougars due to a knee injury. But the 340-pounder is on the depth chart this week, and defensive coordinator Jay Hill said Kirkland is getting close to playing.
Kirkland “is still (questionable) right now, but he looked good today,” Hill said Tuesday. “He continues to get better and better, and he’s going to be a huge addition to us when he comes back.”
Kirkland and senior Kaufusi Pakofe are listed as Tanuvasa’s backups at nose tackle, while Purcell (6-3, 305) and freshman Ulavai Fetuli are listed behind senior John Taumoepeau at defensive tackle.
The Cougars will need all the defensive line depth they can get Saturday, because East Carolina (2-1) runs an up-tempo offense that moves as quickly as any BYU (2-0) will see all season. Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. MDT at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (capacity: 51,000) in Greenville, North Carolina.
Although the Pirates don’t tend to rotate offensive linemen a lot, they are pass-happy, with standout quarterback Katin Houser having already attempted 116 passes in three games, completing 83 for 973 yards and five touchdowns.
“I think we’re in great shape. I think physically, we’re fit. Our strength coaches have done a great job with our team. Through the first two games, we looked outstanding,” Hill said. “The key right now is getting out of drives — don’t let them go on those (long) drives. If we can get out of the stuff early and just get our cleats in the ground and play the way we have the first two weeks, we’ll be in a good spot.”
More on redshirt junior Anisi Purcell
Tanuvasa said Purcell brings enthusiasm and confidence to the interior defensive line, in addition to outstanding quickness for a man his size.
“Anisi is an amazing man. He’s a very silly individual. He knows when to be serious, but he’s a very upbeat, happy individual, which adds a lot of joy to the room and is absolutely critical for the position that we play,” Tanuvasa said. “Sometimes we don’t make the biggest of plays. And so having attitudes like JT (Taumoepeau) and Anisi, who are both very upbeat individuals and very dedicated to their craft, and huge examples, not just to me, but to our young guys … allow us to kind of stay happy consistently in all that we do.”
Purcell credits his parents, Paul and Kimberly, and his upbringing in West Bountiful for his positive outlook on life.
Out of high school, his only two scholarship offers were from Southern Utah and Utah Tech. Although he grew up a BYU fan, the Cougars under then-defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki didn’t express much interest in him.
After three seasons in Cedar City, he had “aspirations to go bigger” and decided to enter the transfer portal, not knowing if there was a lot of interest at the FBS level for an exercise science major with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Purcell sustained a meniscus tear his freshman season at SUU and was able to call that a redshirt season.
“I felt like I needed a change,” he said. “SUU was a great experience, and it is a great FCS program with a great coaching staff, a brotherhood. But I felt like I wanted something different. I felt like God had something else in store for me. So I took my chance and here I am.”
Actually, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion and Mountain West schools such as Nevada and San Jose State were the most interested, and BYU didn’t initially bite.
“BYU came in at the last second, and gave me a chance to come here, and I took it with no hesitation,” Purcell said. “It was by far my best offer.”
With Kirkland missing fall camp and the Cougars losing starters John Nelson and Blake Mangelson to graduation and part-time starter Josh Singh to Vanderbilt, Purcell quickly made the depth chart and has four tackles in two games.
He said his phone blew up with congratulatory text messages after his sack, and then again after word of his engagement got out.
“Just being here at BYU is super amazing,” he said. “My family were big BYU fans and always cheering for BYU. The BYU-Utah games were some of my all-time favorite memories. It is awesome to be here now. I pinch myself sometimes. I can’t believe it is really happening.”
