Some national names, and a few local ones, await No. 12 BYU on visit to No. 25 Oregon

PROVO — Last week, it was Siaki "Apu" Ika, the former East High standout and former BYU commit who is now an NFL prospect at Baylor lining up against the school he grew up cheering on.

When a program like BYU football, which recruits nationally via its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and draws heavily from Utah, there's rarely a week where a former recruit isn't lining up on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

The 12th-ranked Cougars, who will make their first trip to Autzen Stadium since 1990, will be no different when they face No. 25 Oregon on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MDT, FOX). BYU will receive $1.1 million for the game, which will not be returned to LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, according to a copy of the agreement between the two schools obtained by Extra Points' Matt Brown via public-records request.

At least one of those local recruits has a deep connection to BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

Noah Sewell is a 6-foot-2, 253-pound NFL prospect at linebacker who followed his family ties to Eugene and has emerged as one of the Ducks' top defensive playmakers.

A watchlist candidate for the Nagurski, Bednarik and Butkus awards as a sophomore, Sewell was a 14-game starter as a freshman who earned All-Pac-12 honors after leading Oregon with 114 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in his first full season last year, a year after leading Orem to a 5A state title with 103 tackles, four sacks, 12 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

And like he said with Ika, Sitake has enjoyed watching the young Sewell flourish — even in a system that isn't his own.

"He's a great talent. He's big, strong, explosive, great football IQ," said Sitake, a defensive coach by nature. "He's got that running back background and offensive mindset, too. He knows where to fit on the run.

"Look at the family; they're basically built for football. They love the game, and I know the family really well. He is a great product of what that family does. They put out great football players, but he's a great young man, too. They're great brothers, too."

Sewell earned All-Pac-12 honors as a freshman following his breakout 2021 season when he tied for 22nd nationally in total tackles and led all freshman in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

He's only gotten better, too.

"He's been doing great things since he first got there," Sitake said. "It's been impressive to watch him on the film. I'm really happy for his success. It's really cool to see these guys out there that I recognize from recruiting and the local high schools here. They're excited about this game, too."

It's not just Sewell, either. First-year Oregon head coach Dan Lanning inherited a roster flush with high school talent from the Beehive State, including former Kearns defensive star Jeffrey Bassa, a sophomore; Corner Canyon linebacker Harrison Taggart, a freshman; East defensive lineman Ben Roberts, a freshman; Washington transfer Taki Taimani, who prepped at East; and former Corner Canyon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, the 6-foot-3, 319-pound lineman who blocked for current Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart before transitioning to defensive line last year as a freshman for the Ducks.

For whatever reason one chooses to believe, Oregon has made a habit of swooping in and recruiting much of the top talent in the state of Utah with flashy uniforms and the backing of Mr. Swoosh himself, Nike co-founder Phil Knight. There's just something appealing about the flashy green-and-yellow uniforms with the big O on the helmets to Utah players.

"I think it's appealing to everybody in the nation, honestly," Powers-Johnson told KSL.com when he signed. "Oregon recruits just like family. We've had the best recruiting class in the Pac-12 the past 3-4 years, and we're going to keep that up. I think they're great people, great fans, and a great culture."

Luckily for the Cougars, the Oregon pipeline goes both ways. When former Orem High five-star prospect Kingsley Suamataia committed to the Ducks during his senior year, Sitake still kept tabs with his family.

When the 6-foot-6, 325-pound right tackle opted to leave Eugene, there was really only one place he wanted to be: the school that represented his first Division I offer several years before during Suamataia's eighth-grade year.

But when he got an offer from Oregon — where he had family playing, including Noah Sewell and his older brother Penei, now a starter for the Detroit Lions — it seemed like a no-brainer. Until, of course, it wasn't.

The Ducks had a coaching change this past year, and even before then, things just weren't feeling right at the new home of Suamataia, who revealed his transfer destination with the words "I'm coming home."

"Their head coach, coach (Mario) Cristobal, was an O-line guy, and so I headed there," an emotional Suamataia recalled Tuesday night on the coach's show on BYUtv. "Things weren't going so well down there; it was a rough time for me away from my family and away from the church.

"Things I was valuing before I started valuing less when I left. I knew I needed to come back home where my family was, and this is Jesus' school; I love my religion, and I had to come back home."

Of course, the biggest name on the Ducks roster is Bo Nix, the former Auburn standout quarterback who transferred to Oregon last year to play for Lanning and former Auburn assistant Kenny Dillingham.

A three-year starter for the Tigers, the 2019 SEC freshman of the year was the first true freshman to start a game at auburn since 1946, and he went on to set freshman records for completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns when he threw for 2,542 yards and 16 touchdowns in his debut college season.

But with Auburn's coaching change to Bryan Harsin and a subsequent change that brought Lanning and his staff to Eugene, Nix opted for greener pastures — and has found success in the wide-open offense under Dillingham.

After being held scoreless in a 49-3 loss to then-No. 3 Georgia in the season opener (no sweat; it happens to a lot of teams that face the defending national champion Bulldogs), the 6-foot-2, 213-pound signal caller threw for 277 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in the Ducks' 70-14 win over FCS power Eastern Washington last week.

Perhaps most importantly, Nix proved he could be the focal point of a prolific Oregon attack. And he's even better than what he shows on television, BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki said after studying film.

"They're good; they're still Oregon," Tuiaki said. "He's a good player. I've only seen him on TV before we started watching film, but seeing him on film, he's a lot better than I remember watching him on TV.

"You watch a game and detail it out, and he's a really good player. He's got a strong arm, a quick release, he's athletic, he's fast. He brings a lot to the table."

He's got plenty of help, from sophomore receiver Troy Franklin, who is averaging 9.83 yards per catch for a team-high 118 yards and a touchdown; to Terrance Ferguson, who caught two scores against Eastern Washington.

But make no mistake, the offense starts with Nix. And the defense includes plenty of players who grew up a short drive away from BYU's campus.

Related topics