SAN JOSE — Puka Nacua was seeking an update on his alma mater.
Khyiris Tonga had an answer — and the moment spread like wildfire in Provo circles.
Late in the 2024 season, the two former BYU players faced each other when their respective teams, Nacua’s Los Angeles Rams and Tonga’s Arizona Cardinals, played on Dec. 28.
That was also the same day the Cougars were taking on Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
In a video that’s been well-circulated among BYU fans, Nacua and Tonga posed for a photo after their contest against each other, and Nacua asked, “Hey, who’s got the score of the BYU game?”
Tonga answered, saying BYU was up 20-0 at halftime.
The Cougars ended up rolling past the Buffaloes 36-14 in that bowl matchup.
Tonga, the former Cougar and Granger High star who was a seventh-round draft pick in 2021, makes sure to keep up on the Cougars while pursuing his pro dreams — which now have him days away from the Super Bowl.
“I’m tuned in every week, every Saturday — I’m watching no matter where I’m at."
— Khyiris Tonga, on watching his alma mater, BYU
“It’s been super fun to watch BYU play, and I love what (head coach) Kalani (Sitake) got going on with them boys,” Tonga told the Deseret News on Monday night during Super Bowl LX Opening Night festivities at the San Jose Convention Center.
“I’m tuned in every week, every Saturday — I’m watching no matter where I’m at."
Tonga’s time at BYU pre-dates the school’s entrance into the Big 12 — his final season as a Cougar came in 2020, when the team went 11-1 and finished ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings during the pandemic-impacted season.
Over the past two seasons, the Cougars have elevated themselves into a Big 12 contender. In 2024, BYU went 11-2 and ended the year ranked No. 17, and in 2025 the Cougars took it a step further, going 12-2, reaching the Big 12 title game and ending the year ranked No. 11.
Tonga appreciates the accomplishments BYU is achieving as a member of a power conference under Sitake, and believes they’re getting “closer and closer each year.”
“I’m excited for what they got going on, and can’t wait for them next year,” Tonga said.
He’s also a big fan of Bear Bachmeier, the quarterback who led BYU to the conference title game in 2025 as a true freshman.
“He’s a baller,” Tonga said.
Much like his beloved Cougars, Tonga has been a part of a historic season during his fifth year in the NFL. On Sunday, he’ll play with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in San Jose (4:30 p.m. MST, NBC) in his first Super Bowl appearance.
His time as a Cougar instilled a work ethic in Tonga he’s leaned on during his five-year NFL career.
“At BYU, we was always working hard and and never really taking the shortcuts and taking pride in being where we come from, and how we ended up there,” Tonga said.
“I took that mentality and ran with it in the NFL, just always making sure I’m doing the extra whatever I can to be able to be in the league.”
