Just a few days before kickoff, the Cougars name their captains. This season gave this honor to Blake Freeland, Jaren Hall, Clark Barrington, and Puka Nacua for the offense. Representing the defense are Payton Wilgar, Kaleb Hayes, Keenan Pili, and Lorenza Fauatea. These guys were voted on by their teammates to be captains for this upcoming 2022 season.
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Blake Freeland
A 6-8 305 lbs preseason All-American Offensive Lineman. Played in 11 games last season and was given high praise after playing big for the Cougars last season. He has also been named to the Outland Trophy watchlist.
Jaren Hall
A 6-1 205 lbs Quarterback who has been getting a lot of national attention after last season’s showing. Hall played in nine games last year and threw for 171 completions on 2,434 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns.
After all that last season he has been named to the Manning Award, The Walter Peyton Camp Player of the year, the Davey O’Brien, and the Maxwell Award Watchlists ahead of this season.
Clark Barrington
A 6-6 295 lbs preseason All-American Offensive Lineman. Started in all 13 games last season protecting the BYU quarterbacks. He has also been named to the Outland Trophy watchlist for the Cougars joining Blake Freeland.
Puka Nacua
A 6-2 205 lbs Wide receiver. Nacua like the other captains is receiving high praise from the world after last season’s highlight reel. Playing in 10 games last season he had 666 receiving yards with six touchdowns. Nacua also rushed for 148 yards on 14 attempts. He has also been named to the Biletnikoff Award and the Polynesian Player of the Year watchlists.
Payton Wilgar
A 6-3 235 lbs Linebacker. Wilgar played in eight games and had 48 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. After playing lights out at linebacker last year and now healthy after returning from injury he is ready to blow up the opposing team’s offenses. Wilgar has been named to the Nagurski Trophy and the Butkus Award watchlist.
Kaleb Hayes
A 5-11 190 lbs Defensive Back. Played in 11 games last season and had 23 tackles and 11 pass breakups. Has been playing hard in practices and is ready to show Cougar nation what he can continue to do in the backfield for the Cougars.
Keenan Pili
A 6-3 237 lbs Linebacker. Playing only two games last season before tearing his ACL. Pili is ready to play more this season and is also going to be playing a big role in that very talented Linebacker room. He has also been named to the Bednarik Award Watchlist.
Lorenzo Fauatea
A 6-4 310 lbs Defensive lineman. Playing in only three games last season before also getting injured and missing the rest of the season. He had two tackles last season. He has been with the program since 2017 and this will be his last.