Jay Hill and Jernaro Gilford did not leave the cupboard bare when they left BYU for Michigan last month.
Actually, just the opposite has happened, as new BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga and new defensive passing game coordinator Demario Warren replaced Hill and Gilford, respectively, and inherited a deep, talented group led by defensive linemen Keanu Tanuvasa and Bodie Schoonover, linebackers Isaiah Glasker and Siale Esera, and defensive backs Evan Johnson, Raider Damuni, Tre Alexander and Faletau Satuala.
Head coach Kalani Sitake and Poppinga then went out and got three players from the transfer portal who should be able to step in and help right away, landing Cal linebacker Cade Uluave, Kansas State linebacker Jake Clifton and Mississippi State cornerback Jayven Williams. Uluave, especially, is a plug-and-play guy who will replace the departed Jack Kelly and give BYU one of the best linebacker units in the Big 12, if not the country.
Uluave, who played at Herriman's Mountain Ridge High, was one of the highest-rated linebackers in the entire portal.
"Cade Uluave is a big pickup for us," Poppinga said Wednesday in a signing day news conference . "We are excited to see him have an impact here. … We are in a really good spot. I think we're as deep as we've been defensively since I've been here the past three years. That's a credit to just everybody over the last three years that we've been able to recruit and build good depth for our whole entire team to help us look more like a Big 12 football team."
Clifton played in 19 games over two seasons at K-State before going on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Nicaragua. He started in three games and appeared in eight in 2023 as a sophomore, posting 24 total tackles.
Williams played in 13 games at Mississippi State in 2025, posting 18 tackles and one interception, after spending his first three years at Kennesaw State.
Clifton "was a guy that we had seen on film and had a ton of success before he went on his mission," Poppinga said. "He is another guy that is going to add some great depth this season. So yeah, we are very deep at the linebacker position. The competition in that room is going to be fierce, and that's how you want it. It is going to make those guys better. It's going to make our team better. "
UCLA running back Carson Steele, right, stiff arms California linebacker Cade Uluave during game, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. | Ryan Sun, Associated Press
Uluave played in 34 games in three seasons for Cal, starting in 26. Last season, he led the Bears with 100 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and five quarterback hurries. He was a first-team All-ACC selection.
Poppinga said Uluave will play inside linebacker, the position he played in his third season in Berkeley.
"I think we're as deep as we've been defensively since I've been here the past three years."
"The guy is a very instinctive football player. He can do everything. Phenomenal at fitting the run. Very good instincts. He's great in coverage, and man, his pass rush abilities are really, really good too," Poppinga said. "He is the type of backer that we want that's a very versatile type of guy. He can do a lot of different things.
"Sometimes, in this game, especially at linebacker, you get a guy that can just play in the box, or just a cover guy. This guy can do it all. He's a combination of being a great, explosive athlete and also being a physical football player."
Other linebackers expected to return in 2026 are redshirt juniors Maika Kaufusi, Miles Hall and Ace Kaufusi and sophomores Tyler Payne, Ephraim Asiata and Pierson Watson. Newcomers include true freshman Braxton Lindsey and three returned missionaries — Adney Reid, Blake Lowe and Owen Borg.
"Adney Reid is another guy that I've been really excited to see (play)," Poppinga said. "He's a big, long, versatile type of guy who will start (his career) at outside backer, kind of that Sam backer position where we've seen (Isaiah) Glasker play."
Poppinga said Reid could morph into a boundary defensive end like Logan Lutui and Tyler Batty did in past years.
" Owen Borg (who prepped at Corner Canyon High) and Blake Lowe are two guys that I've liked as well," Poppinga said. "Both guys were really good athletes, but kind of undersized, in high school. They have put on some weight, matured a little bit from their missions, and have come back and looked like the type of linebackers we look for. Both guys are 6-3, both can run."
Corner Canyon's Owen Borg celebrates a tackle during a 6A quarterfinal football game against Bingham at Corner Canyon High School in Draper on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Corner Canyon won 57-22. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Cade Uluave, linebacker, 6-1, 235, Herriman, Utah (Mountain Ridge High/Cal)
Jake Clifton, linebacker, 6-2, 225, Owasso, Oklahoma (Owasso High/Kansas State)
Jayven Williams, cornerback, 6-2, 185, Mobile, Alabama (Baker High/Mississippi State)
Adney Reid, linebacker, 6-5, 225, Spanish Fork, Utah (Spanish Fork High/The King's School, Australia)
Blake Lowe, linebacker, 6-3, 205, Temecula, California (Chaparral High)
Owen Borg, linebacker, 6-2 200, Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon High)
Tui Pututau, defensive end, 6-5, 255, Salt Lake City (West High)
David Tangilanu, defensive line, 6-5, 255, Menlo, California (Menlo-Atherton High)
Nehemiah Kolone, defensive lineman, 6-4, 265, Stillwater, Oklahoma (Stillwater High)
Matthew Mason, safety, 6-3, 190, Las Vegas, Nevada (Faith Lutheran High)
Kennan Pula, athlete, 6-2, 195, Highland, Utah (Lone Peak High)
Jaron Pula, athlete, 6-2, 185, Highland, Utah (Lone Peak High)
Braxton Lindsey, linebacker, 6-3, 230, Rogers, Arkansas (Rogers High)
Justice Brathwaite, cornerback, 6-1, 190, Gilbert, Arizona (Higley High)
Antonio Johnson , cornerback, 6-4, 170, Fort Worth, Texas (Arlington Heights High)
