Nacua, defense confident in trusted veterans, star newcomers at BYU fall camp

PROVO — As the most experienced defensive back on BYU’s 2016 roster, Kai Nacua knows his defense.

And that has caused him to think of great possibilities this season.

After losing just two players on defense from the 2015 squad, BYU’s defense has hit the ground running as it concluded the second day of fall camp Saturday at the school’s practice field.

“It’s different, and it came with playing,” said Nacua, who has 33 games in three years with 116 tackles and eight interceptions. “Having a lot of our defense back means I already have a year or two of trust. But if they do mess up, I will get on them. I’m not going to go easy. But the trust is there.”

The native of Las Vegas happily addressed the media and is recovering well from offseason surgery on both shoulders, medical treatment that will keep him free of hitting drills during fall camp — much to his dismay.

But football isn’t the only change that Nacua has been facing recently, either. His younger brother Isaiah, a defensive lineman, withdrew from BYU a year ago with plans to attend Snow College for academic reasons.

Instead, Isaiah Nacua put in his mission papers to serve two years for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kai Nacua never expected his little brother to serve a mission — but he’s glad he did as he gets weekly reports from Colorado, where the younger football player has been called to serve.

“He’s doing good. He’s loving it. He’s a changed man, for sure,” Kai Nacua said. “I get his emails, and I sometimes don’t know who this is. But keep doing your thing, man.”

Even the new players aren’t stressing Nacua. Rising junior Micah Hannemann moved over to safety after spending 2015 as a cornerback, and Nacua has fallen into trusting the Lone Peak grad like they’ve played side-by-side for an entire career.

“Micah is a good player,” he said. “He can cover a lot of ground. I think we are similar players; we like to hit and get physical. It’s been a lot of fun. I think we are doing a really good job out there.”

Hannemann's move was sparked, in part, by the early emergence of incoming freshman Troy Warner. The former two-way high school standout enrolled at BYU with the potential to play both receiver and defensive back. But he's focused on cornerback, at least for the foreseeable future.

"Competing itself is a great thing because everybody is able to learn and improve," Warner said. "When you don’t have that competitiveness there, you might slack a little bit. Competing is a fun thing to do, and I think the competitive nature of this team will be a good thing for us."

Saturday was marked by changes in the defense, despite its stability. The new coaching staff had middle linebacker Harvey Langi work out with the defensive linemen, and he impressed enough that no one is ruling out potential movement amongst packages.

A move to defensive end may not be permanent. But new coach Kalani Sitake and defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki are happy to have all of their defenders willing to add new skillsets.

“He’s explosive. The tools that he’s got could make him very good (at the position),” Tuiaki said.

“Harvey looks pretty natural there.”

Tuiaki has taken over the defense, implementing various sets in 4-3 and 3-4 formations — and even causing head coach Kalani Sitake to tease that he has less to do. Langi’s move will likely be just one of many attempts and looks involving several players.

“He’s perfect. I want to be more involved, but he’s doing fine already,” Sitake said of Tuiaki. “I’m saying a few things to the players, and they’ve already started finishing my sentence. That’s a good sign. I’ve got to find a place where I can teach some new things. I just have a great coaching staff who is covering it.”

Fall practice continues next week, including team picture day scheduled for Tuesday. BYU opens the 2016 season Sept. 3 at Arizona.

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