Every year, it feels like this is the year. This is the year BYU will generate pressure with four. This is the year BYU will have a legit pass rush. Well... this might actually be the year. BYU returns all but one player from a young, but loaded, defensive ends group that is poised to take a massive step forward this season. And for BYU to reach their goals this season, they will need to.
1. Bodie Schoonover , Nusi Taumoepeau
2. Hunter Clegg , Tausili Akana
BYU defensive end Bodie Schoonover | BYU Photo
BYU has done an unbelievable job recruiting the defensive end spot. So much so that a former blue-chip recruit in Braxton Lindsey didn't crack our two-deep. While Lindsey and others will likely see some time in the rotation as the season progresses, our top four edges are as talented as is gets. Akana (96 rating), Hunter Clegg (92 rating), and Taumoepeau (91 rating) are three of the top nine most talented players on the roster by star rating. Schoonover (88 rating) was also the highest-rated signee of the 2020 class and is in his 5th fifth at BYU. As opposed to other talented groups on the roster, though, we haven't seen this group play and produce at a high level.
Schoonover led this group with 455 snaps played and was second on the team with 3 sacks. He also has shown versatility to move inside on obvious pass rush situations to give a faster twitch edge the opportunity get on the field. Clegg showed flashes last season, producing a higher pressure rate than Schoonover last season, albeit on fewer snaps. Akana and Taumoepeau are true pass rush specialists, ranking 15th and 6th, respectively, in the Big 12 in pass rush win rate, which is defined as percentage of reps won against pass blocking.
Taumoepeau gets the nod as the starter as he ranked first nationally in pressure rate among edges with at least 50 pass rush snaps. Yes, that is higher than Utah's John Henry Daley and Texas Tech's David Bailey and Romelo Height. Not to mention, 14 of his 15 total pressures came in the team's final 5 games. In his only game with at least 20 snaps played ( Georgia Tech ), he led the team in pressures, QB hits, tackles, and forced fumbles. This kid is special. It appears the only thing he is missing is volume.
This is probably the first year of the Kalani Sitake era with this combination of talent and experience at this position, with enough depth to rotate bodies without any real drop-off in production. Now with Clegg, Taumoepeau, and Akana having a full year of playing time under their belts, we expect a huge jump from this group.
BYU defensive end Tausili Akana pressures Noah Fifita in Cougars' win over Arizona | BYU Photo
BYU's pass rush has improved tremendously over the last three years, with sacks more than doubling from 13 in 2023 to 30 in 2025, and total pressures jumping from 135 in 2023 to 235 in 2025. BYU will approach 300 pressures and 40 sacks this season if historical growth trends hold. For reference, Texas Tech had 41 sacks last season. For that to happen, though, this is the group that needs to take the next step, starting with converting pressures into sacks. Last season, these 4 combined for 13 total QB hits, but only 5 total sacks. If this group can just get a step faster, they go from making the QB uncomfortable to derailing drives altogether, which will raise the ceiling of the defense dramatically.
The difference between BYU making the college football playoff and finishing outside the Big 12 championship hinges on this group more than any other outside Bear and LJ. If this group can become what their recruiting pedigree says they are, the loss of Jay Hill will not matter one bit. Literally any defensive scheme will work if you can get pressure with four, and on paper, this group can get pressure with four. This is especially true in obvious passing situations where BYU can slide Schoonover to the middle with Tanuvasa, while letting Akana and Taumoepeau do what they do best. The only reason this group is ranked seventh is that we've only seen flashes of this versus an entire season, but man those flashes have been awesome.
Tausili Akana was a superstar down the stretch in BYU's win over Arizona , with two QB hits that forced a goal line interception and the game-winning incompletion. He also did this against a top 10 pick (clip above). Clegg recorded a sack against the vaunted Utah offensive line, while Taumoepeau was the best defender on the field against Georgia Tech. Sustain that over a full year and our concern about losing Jay Hill this offseason is near zero, and making the playoff is a virtual lock.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/byu as BYU Position Group Rankings: Can the Edge Rushers Finally Generate Pressure with Four? .
