BYU Football Signs 3-Star Kinilau Fonohema

While thousands of players nationwide were signing with their teams on Early National Signing Day in the early hours of the day, Fonohema in a way created his own spotlight by signing in the evening while most of the media buzz of the day had already ended.

Fonohema was viewed by many as a big rivalry get between Utah and BYU, with Utah hoping to continue their defensive dominance and BYU showing they can play big boy defense as well under Defensive Coordinator Jay Hill’s new defensive scheme.

Fonohema’s addition also secured BYU finishing higher than Utah  in this year’s recruiting class ranking on 247 Sports, at least through the Early Signing Day period, something BYU has not done for over a decade.

Dominant Day For BYU Football’s Defense

BYU Football’s defense relied heavily last season on players who were recruited for and played under Illasi Tuiaki’s defense. Despite not being the style or size Jay Hill wanted, the defense still saw a huge uptick in production last season.

This year, it was clear that the focus in recruiting was on the defense. Of BYU’s top eight recruits, six play on the defensive side of the ball, and another two are being added via the transfer portal. Additionally, seven of the 23 plyers added to the roster to this point are defensive linemen, making it clear that it was the position group more emphasized in this class.

The late addition of Fonohema further shows that in a league known for prolific offenses, BYU is determined to be a team focused on defense and making offenses uncomfortable.

In particular, Fonohema, who is 6’5″ and runs a 4.69 second 40, will be just the kind of player Coach Hill is looking for when dialing up blitzes and opening up lanes for linebackers. The hope is that he will be able to explode off the line and force blockers to the outside, exposing the pocket to other rushers as well as to close the outside off from running backs and scrambling quarterbacks.