BYU backup linebacker Ephraim Asiata was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, producing a fake California driver’s license and was booked into the Utah County Jail earlier this month.
Asiata, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound redshirt sophomore from West Valley City, was listed on BYU’s spring football roster in March. The school had not published its fall roster as of midday Wednesday.
Contacted Wednesday morning after news of Asiata’s arrest appeared on a social media website, a BYU Athletics spokesperson said the football program is “aware of the situation” and that it is “currently under evaluation by the university.”
According to booking documents and a probable cause statement, Asiata was arrested at 12:37 a.m. on July 2 and booked into the Utah County Jail at 2:02 a.m. that same morning. He was released on a $2,500 bond at 1:10 p.m. later that day.
Asiata was also charged with driving without a license, failure to operate within a single lane, and possession/consumption of a controlled substance by a minor, which the probable cause statement lists as alcohol and THC.
BYU is scheduled to start training camp for the 2026 football season next Wednesday. Asiata is the son of former University of Utah and Minnesota Vikings standout running back Matt Asiata.
In December 2022, Ephraim Asiata, then 15, was critically wounded and hospitalized for weeks after a shooting involving several juveniles near the Hunter High campus in West Valley City that took the lives of two of his classmates.
Asiata joined the BYU football program in 2024 and played in 11 games in a backup linebacker role and on special teams. While battling various injuries last season, he appeared in four regular-season games and made two total tackles.
The probable cause statement details how Asiata was pulled over on July 2 when a sheriff’s deputy observed his vehicle blocking a sidewalk when entering traffic from a parking lot. Three other people were in the vehicle.
The deputy reported that he could “smell the odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and noticed the defendant had red, glossy eyes” and suspected Asiata was under the influence of alcohol.
Asiata initially gave the deputy a false name, JF, and a fake California driver’s license, according to the probable cause statement.
Asiata agreed to a portable breath test, and the sample was positive for alcohol. A standardized field sobriety test was also performed, and Asiata was subsequently arrested and transported to the jail in Spanish Fork.
“A preliminary test on the defendant’s urine sample was positive for alcohol and THC. The results of the testing on the defendant’s blood sample are still pending,” the probable cause statement stated. “A records check on the defendant showed he never obtained his (Utah) driver’s license.”
