Tausili Akana enjoyed the best game of his college career this past weekend against Arizona.
It also happened to be one of the most prolific pass-rush performances for BYU this century.
Akana racked up 2.5 sacks against the Wildcats, the most by a Cougars defender since Tyler Batty in 2021.
But Akana’s outing having come against a Big 12 foe now puts him in exclusive BYU company.
According to Cougar Football Archive and Joe Wheat of BYU Cougars on SI, Akana is one of three BYU players in the past 30 years to record at least 2.5 sacks in a single game against a power conference opponent, joining Kyle Van Noy (against Georgia Tech in 2013) and Sae Tautu (against Mississippi State in 2016).
Of course, any time someone from BYU lands in the same sentence as Van Noy, you know they’ve done something truly impressive.
While such success was especially sweet for Akana, whose eruption against Arizona quintupled his previous career sack total (0.5), he’s still far from satisfied with his historic effort.
“I feel like I can do better than that,” Akana told the Deseret News of his 2.5-sack day. “Hopefully I can showcase that during these games coming up. We’ve got a really good D line, and some good players I can learn off of, so I’m excited.”
Akana’s first sack of Noah Fifita came on a first-down play in the second quarter, where he fought from the left side and whipped out a spin move to shed his blocker and get home for a 6-yard loss.
He later foiled Fifita on the first play of Arizona’s final drive, baiting the Wildcats line into double-teaming Keanu Tanuvasa, which freed himself to cut inside and pound the A gap for his second takedown.
Then, on the very next snap, Akana and a bull-rushing Tanuvasa quickly collapsed the pocket to swallow up Fifita once again — this time 14 yards behind where the series had begun.
“That teamwork together, just having those two guys on the same side, I thought was a pretty good combination,” BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga said of Akana and Tanuvasa.
It’s been quite the leap for Akana, who averaged just under 15 snaps per game for BYU last year after transferring in from the University of Texas.
Now, through two games in 2026, Pro Football Focus rates Akana as BYU’s top defensive player thus far with an 87.6 overall grade, placing him fifth among edge rushers in the Big 12.
“I think he’s more physical in the run game, I think he has a little bit more power in his pass rush, and he still has his quickness and speed and his athleticism,” Poppinga said. “He’s become a more complete player, which we need from him right now.”
Weight gain has been paramount in Akana’s improvement on the field — he claims to be “248 right now,” which is more than 20 pounds heavier than he was a year ago and nearly 40 pounds heavier than his listed freshman weight at Texas.
How has Akana put on those pounds?
“Just down the hatch,” he said with a laugh. “Really, I just open my mouth and just feed.”
Akana’s sturdier frame has definitely helped him battle in the trenches, but he feels his greater attention to technique is the main factor behind his uptick in production.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig stands out as Akana’s favorite player to study, as he hopes to “replicate my game off of him” and develop similar switch-up moves. Daily discussion and analysis with new BYU outside linebackers coach Chad Kauha’aha’a has been a crucial resource as well.
“Technique-wise, it’s good to have Coach Chad, we go over pass rush every day and he’s really technical about stuff,” Akana said.
“... Right now, I’m working on a nice speed to power. What all the offensive linemen think I’m going to do is come with speed, and then I just turn around and come back with power to get off (the block) from there.”
Akana says his goal for the season is reaching double digit sacks, something only one BYU player (Jack Kelly) has accomplished in the past decade.
He’s already a quarter of the way there through two games, but a new challenge awaits this weekend in Colorado State’s speedy quarterback Hauss Henjy, who’s currently averaging more than 10 yards per carry and has only been sacked once in 2026.
“He’s definitely a runner, he will escape out the pocket and go, he’s a fast quarterback,” Akana said. “He does have some good reads. Hopefully, we can cover him up and get some good sacks.”
But just as much as BYU must prepare to stop Henjy, Colorado State will need to game plan for Akana. Standout pass-rushers always command extra attention, and given what the world saw last week against Arizona, Akana may be trending up to that level.
