Senior nose tackle on Boise State's 2021 roster.
5′10″ · 186 lb · Kahuku, HI
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
CB recruit
No. 1189 nationally · Signed with Boise State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 nose tackle on Boise State's roster.
Kekaula Kaniho
Wins his gap play after play. Kekaula Kaniho has played for two head coaches in five seasons at Boise State. All-Mountain West in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. The receipt: 7 tackles, 2 TFL against Oklahoma State — Week 3, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Boise State, 197 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Bryan Harsin → Andy Avalos. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: forced fumbles (95th percentile). Concern: sacks (24th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 5.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Spencer Danielson
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #274 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Boise State | 34 | 25 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | Boise State | 32 | 22 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 7 | -- | 1 |
| 2019 | Boise State | 61 | 48 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
| 2018 | Boise State | 38 | 26 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 3 | -- |
| 2017 | Boise State | 32 | 23 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 197 | 144 | 26.5 | 5.0 | 22 | 6 | 2 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2021
W 40–14
at Fresno State
1 PD · 3 SOLO · 3 TOT
Dominant 26-point win on the road against Fresno State.
With H. Bachmeier — 283 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 80.9 · 8 rush yds (6 car) · G. Holani — 117 rush yds (21 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 20-21vs Oklahoma State | 7 | 7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 26-17@ BYU | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 17-24vs Air Force | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-19@ Colorado State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 40-14@ Fresno State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 23-13vs Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 37-0vs New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 16-27@ San Diego State | 6 | 6 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 25 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
34 tackles. 1 passes defended. 1 interceptions. 5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Player DNA
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Malcolm Greene’s 2021 season.
Matches Malcolm on
Differs from Malcolm on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Dorrian Smith's senior season at Georgia Southern (2025).
Matches Dorrian on
Player DNA