Sometimes a nice message can only be taken so seriously, and this was never more true than the news that BYU Football received when defensive tackle and projected starting nose tackle Danny Saili decided to enter his name in the transfer portal and land with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Transferring of course is nothing new to BYU, Arkansas, or any other program, but this particular transfer left BYU fans wondering, what happened?
Danny Saili Seemed Committed to BYU
Earlier this year Danny Saili announced that he would be transferring to BYU after flipping his prior commitment from Texas Tech. In a statement to BYU fans he released the following:
“I was not promised a car, any money, but a chance to grow as a football player and as a member of the LDS church”
Apparently he grew up pretty quick.
Saili previously had committed to Oklahoma, de-commited, played for Hutchinson Community College and was viewed as a highly rated 3-star prospect (88 on 247 Sports). It is unclear exactly why Saili decided to transfer from BYU so quickly. Kalani Sitake had said as late as a few weeks ago that Saili was going to be a big part of the defense.
Woo pig @CoachDekeAdams let’s do it. pic.twitter.com/CsivmAMlk0
— Tui (@danny_saili) May 6, 2024
Arkansas Gains a Potential Big Boost to Defensive Line
Last year, Arkansas’ rush defense ranked 80th in the nation giving up 4.4 yards per rushing attempt. They were really good at getting to the quarterback and picking up sacks (8.85%) ranking tenth in the nation. However, most of the time the sacks aren’t coming because of big nose tackles getting in the backfield, they come from the outside.
If Saili proves to be an effective nose tackle that can help hold down the run game, this will allow the edge defenders to cheat even more and potentially pick up even more sacks. Last year, Arkansas was a play here and there from taking down Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, and yes, even BYU. Adding a bit more strength on the defensive line could have easily been the difference between a 4-8 season and a 7-5 season.