CFB Zeitgeist
KTKeanu Tanuvasa

Keanu Tanuvasa

Keanu Tanuvasa is a captain, a 300-pound anchor, and a veteran who chose to come back for a fifth year -- because he believes this BYU defense is on the verge of something special, and he wants one more shot at it.

DT · BYU · Cl 3 · #57

CFB Zeitgeist 66

Keanu Tanuvasa is a captain, a 300-pound anchor, and a veteran who chose to come back for a fifth year -- because he believes this BYU defense is on the verge of something special, and he wants one more shot at it.

The Utah transfer settled in as BYU's defensive-line leader in 2025 -- 26 tackles, two sacks, and the steady interior presence a defense organizes around -- and was named a team captain. He returned for a fifth season largely because head coach Kalani Sitake stayed, framing 2026 openly as his draft-stock final ride. The forward stakes are a team's ceiling: a veteran anchor in the middle is the unglamorous foundation of good run defense, and Tanuvasa believes the unit around him is ready to break through. He's not a stat-sheet stuffer -- he's the captain who holds the point and sets the tone for a defense with real ambitions.

PLAY STYLE

Tanuvasa is a classic anchor tackle -- 6-4, 300, built to occupy blockers and hold the interior against the run. The value isn't in flashy numbers (his sack and tackle totals are modest); it's in the dirty work and the leadership, the captain who two-gaps, eats double-teams, and frees the players around him to make plays. He's a veteran's veteran, a former missionary and fifth-year leader whose game is about reliability and toughness in the middle. On a defense aiming to take a step, his job is the foundation everything else is built on.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#780 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach
2022
Kalani Sitake
BYU
2023
Kalani Sitake
BYU
2024
Kalani Sitake
BYU
2025
Kalani Sitake
BYU

Played his entire career under Kalani Sitake.

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Utah10-4HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning
2023Utah8-5HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-heavy
2024Utah5-7HC: Kyle Whittingham · Balanced
2025BYU12-2HC: Kalani Sitake · Run-leaning

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DT cohort

66Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (81st). Concern: solo tackles (16th).

QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct
3defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Passes defended#517 / 2975 · 78th pct
3defe
Tackles for loss#648 / 2975 · 77th pct
4.5defe
Tackles#1869 / 2975 · 36th pct
22defe
Solo tackles#2397 / 2975 · 17th pct
7defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Career stats

Defense

Season-by-season defensive box score for disruption and splash plays.

Season Team TOTSOLOTFLSACKPDINTFF
2025 BYUFinal snapshot 2274.52.03----
2024 UtahFinal snapshot 1684.51.04----
2023 UtahFinal snapshot 2776.02.0------
2022 UtahFinal snapshot 631.51.01----
Career 4 loaded seasonsCareer row reflects the stat seasons currently loaded in this database. 712516.56.08----

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 8 · 2025

W 24–21

vs Utah

3 TOT  ·  1 SOLO  ·  0 TFL

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.

Game log

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 69-0vs Portland State110.00.00
Wk 2W 27-3vs Stanford421.01.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 4W 34-13@ East Carolina300.00.00
Wk 6W 38-24vs West Virginia311.00.00
Wk 8W 24-21vs Utah310.50.01
Wk 9W 41-27@ Iowa State000.00.01
Wk 11L 7-29@ Texas Tech300.00.00
Wk 12W 44-13vs TCU221.01.00
Wk 14W 41-21vs UCF100.50.00
Wk 15L 7-34@ Texas Tech000.00.01
BowlW 25-21vs Georgia Tech200.50.00
Total2274.52.03

How he plays

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DT cohort

66Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (81st). Concern: solo tackles (16th).

QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct
3defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Passes defended#517 / 2975 · 78th pct
3defe
Tackles for loss#648 / 2975 · 77th pct
4.5defe
Tackles#1869 / 2975 · 36th pct
22defe
Solo tackles#2397 / 2975 · 17th pct
7defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

PLAY STYLE

Tanuvasa is a classic anchor tackle -- 6-4, 300, built to occupy blockers and hold the interior against the run. The value isn't in flashy numbers (his sack and tackle totals are modest); it's in the dirty work and the leadership, the captain who two-gaps, eats double-teams, and frees the players around him to make plays. He's a veteran's veteran, a former missionary and fifth-year leader whose game is about reliability and toughness in the middle. On a defense aiming to take a step, his job is the foundation everything else is built on.

2026 Outlook

Returning to BYU for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive tackle · BYU

Returning around him

  • 87% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • 2 BYU players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (9 in / 13 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

BYU · Last season: 12-2 (AP #12) · Talent rank #70 · 2026 recruiting class #55

Perception vs tape

Keanu Tanuvasa is a captain, a 300-pound anchor, and a veteran who chose to come back for a fifth year — because he believes this BYU defense is on the verge of something special, and he wants one more shot at it.

The Utah transfer settled in as BYU's defensive-line leader in 2025 — 26 tackles, two sacks, and the steady interior presence a defense organizes around — and was named a team captain. He returned for a fifth season largely because head coach Kalani Sitake stayed, framing 2026 openly as his draft-stock final ride. The forward stakes are a team's ceiling: a veteran anchor in the middle is the unglamorous foundation of good run defense, and Tanuvasa believes the unit around him is ready to break through. He's not a stat-sheet stuffer — he's the captain who holds the point and sets the tone for a defense with real ambitions.

How he plays

Tanuvasa is a classic anchor tackle — 6-4, 300, built to occupy blockers and hold the interior against the run. The value isn't in flashy numbers (his sack and tackle totals are modest); it's in the dirty work and the leadership, the captain who two-gaps, eats double-teams, and frees the players around him to make plays. He's a veteran's veteran, a former missionary and fifth-year leader whose game is about reliability and toughness in the middle. On a defense aiming to take a step, his job is the foundation everything else is built on.

2026 outlook · as of 2026-06-13

DNA match

Player DNA

The Two-Gap Base

Stout at the point of attack; controls his gap and stacks blocks.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Amari McNeill’s 2023 season.

Amari McNeill

91%match

Colorado · 2023

#2

Jordan Kelley

Oklahoma · 2023

90%
#3

Darius Alexander

Toledo · 2024

All-MACNFL Rd 3 · Pk 1
88%
#4

Raishein Thomas

Mississippi State · 2025

87%
#5

Warren Brinson

Georgia · 2024

NFL Rd 6
86%

Matches Amari on

Sack rate
Height
Weight

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Jaray Bledsoe's senior season at Mississippi State (2025).

Jaray Bledsoe

77%match

Mississippi State · 2025

#2

Anthony Holmes Jr.

Texas Tech · 2025

77%
#3

Derrick Harmon

Oregon · 2024

All-Big TenNFL Rd 1 · Pk 21
70%
#4

Daniel Lyons

Florida State · 2025

69%
#5

Merhauti Xepera

Fresno State · 2025

66%

Matches Jaray on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Differs from Jaray on

Sack rate (higher)

Peer comparator

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 6 metrics
Keanu TanuvasaBYURay ConeyTulsa· 59% simTreylin PayneTexas State· 59% simRasheem BilesPittsburgh· 59% sim
QB hurries
82
Tanuvasa
88
Coney
82
Payne
88
Biles
Sacks
80
Tanuvasa
80
Coney
80
Payne
95
Biles
Passes defended
78
Tanuvasa
67
Coney
67
Payne
86
Biles
Tackles for loss
77
Tanuvasa
90
Coney
87
Payne
100
Biles
Tackles
36
Tanuvasa
100
Coney
98
Payne
98
Biles
Solo tackles
17
Tanuvasa
93
Coney
95
Payne
91
Biles

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.