Need for speed? Cade Uluave hopes to be difference maker for BYU after 4 years at Cal

PROVO — Cade Uluave admits that his two college football experiences couldn't be much different, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Two weeks after graduating from Mountain Ridge High School in Herriman, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker packed up his belongings and moved to Berkley, California as Cal prepared to leave the disintegrating Pac-12 for the ACC.

At first, he'd call his mom almost every day with a question: Can I come home?

Eventually, he did. But we'll get to that later.

"My mom would always tell me, stick with it; it's going to help you grow," Uluave told KSL.com after wrapping up his first spring training camp at BYU. "Things started to get better, and I learned so much from a new culture, new experiences, new people."

A former two-way standout who ran for 1,638 yards and 26 touchdowns for the Sentinels, Uluave developed into a standout linebacker as the Golden Bears began play in the geographically disparate ACC. He started 26 of his 34 games over three seasons at Cal, totaling 237 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles and earned first-team All-ACC honors last year.

But with one season remaining and a coaching change in Berkley, Uluave put his name into the transfer portal to evaluate his options — and found what he was looking for in a BYU program eager to contend for a Big 12 title.

"I grew as a player, as well; all credit to Cal and their staff," said Uluave, who recently earned All-Big 12 preseason honors. "Now it's time to come back home and let my family drive 20-30 minutes to a game instead of having to hop on a flight. That's one thing that I love about being back here at BYU, and being able to play for a great school, a great university, and a great football team."

The road home: Uluave returns to dad's hometown

Coming home is a full circle moment for Uluave, who grew up in Utah but admits to being fairly non-committal when it came to the BYU-Utah rivalry that engulfs the state every fall. Pressed to pick a side — as most are — he quickly painted a picture as one who leaned blue, though.

His father Kalisi grew up in Provo before playing linebacker at Southern Utah and earning a graduate degree from BYU, and his grandfather spent most of his life in Utah County — including nearly 20 years as a BYU football season-ticket holder.

His sister Chloee is also currently enrolled at the university.

"Deep down, I was always a BYU fan," Uluave said.

"The roots run super deep," he added. "I love being able to come back here and play."

He also fits a need for the Cougars: specifically speed, says new defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga.

A former standout BYU linebacker himself, Poppinga said Uluave has been clocked at 22 miles per hour, "which is as fast as most of our corners."

"I watched his film and I thought he was fast and he looked really fast. But he's faster and more explosive than I thought he was," Poppinga said. "When that guy pulls the trigger in the run game and he comes downhill, it's as quick and as fast as I've seen. I'm really excited to see what he's going to do in games in the Big 12."

BYU cornerback Evan Johnson wants to call cap, he says. But only a little bit.

"Cade is fast," he said with a wide smile. "But the DBs are all fast. No offense to Cade, but the DBs are faster. That's all I'll say."

Speed — and then some, for BYU linebackers

Johnson is sticking up for his contemporaries in the defensive secondary. But BYU teammates agree; Uluave has speed unlike a lot of linebackers.

The Cougars have a tall task to replace the production of Jack Kelly, a sixth-round NFL draft pick by the New York Giants from Kearns who totaled 55 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles a year ago.

But Uluave brings his own dynamic play to Poppinga's scheme — and in the locker room.

"He's a guy who works really hard," teammate Isaiah Glasker said. "He sets a great example to the other linebackers, and the rest of the guys."

Uluave gives credit to strength and conditioning coach Ryan Phillis and his staff, who ran the senior through offseason workouts with a protective cast on his hand from an injury he suffered late in the 2025 season while playing in front of the often-quirky, frequently passionate "Calgorithm" in the Bay Area.

He's on track to be healthy for fall, when he'll spend one final year in college, graduate in December (hopefully, he admits), and take a shot at the NFL.

Most of his credits across his sociology major transferred from Cal, an elite academic institution in its own right that Uluave said played a key role in his initial commitment. But he admits there's some irony in his journey, considering the social and political atmospheres of the flagship university of the University of California system and the flagship school of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I don't think you could get more polar opposite places. But I love it," Uluave said. "Going from protests every day to coming out here and playing football and going to church.

"From protests to prayers; I love it."

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