BYU’s defensive backs prepare for another standout quarterback this week

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Kelly Poppinga isn’t the only BYU defensive coach who passed his first real test with flying colors in BYU’s 28-17 win over Arizona last Saturday.

New cornerbacks coach Lewis Walker saw his guys also perform well, after a shaky first half. The corners didn’t come up with three picks like they did in the opener — Evan Johnson, Tre Alexander and backup Matthias Leach posted interceptions — but they were largely responsible for shutting down Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita after halftime.

Arizona was shut out in the second half, had minus-2 rushing yards and only 87 total yards. In fairness, the Wildcats were without star receiver Giovanni Richardson, who suffered a lower body injury in the second quarter and didn’t return.

“Those guys played their butts off,” said BYU linebacker Cade Uluave, who had BYU’s only interception in Week 2.

That didn’t surprise Walker, who is replacing the Michigan-bound Jernaro Gilford after spending the last two seasons as defensive coordinator at Division III Monmouth.

Speaking last week after the three-interception game against Utah Tech, Walker said this cornerbacks group has the potential to be one of the best at BYU in recent memory.

At least, Alexander believes it will be.

The junior from Georgia predicted on social media that BYU will lead the country in interceptions in 2026. Walker’s reaction?

“I love the confidence, and I am never going to tell these guys to stop dreaming big and stop having big aspirations,” said Walker, who prepped at Judge Memorial High in Salt Lake City before playing college football for Hawaii and Utah.

“The thing we talk about here is staying humble and staying hungry. Tre is authentically himself, and I am always going to be the first one to encourage him to continue to be himself, as long as it is not a detriment to this program, and he’s never been that.”

BYU started three corners against Arizona — Johnson moved to the slot position, sometimes referred to as the nickel position — and Alexander and Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams played on the outside.

Williams played 39 snaps and has clearly established himself as a valuable part of the secondary.

“Jayven comes from two really good programs in Kennesaw State first and then Mississippi State and has a lot of snaps under his belt from both places,” Walker said. “He brings experience, not only from the position, but on the field in big-time games, too. He’s just a tremendous leader that we have in our room.”

So has sophomore Cannon DeVries, who is listed as a nickel but is in the safeties room under coach Demario Warren.

“Cannon has just done a tremendous job ever since we got here in the winter,” Walker said.

BYU’s secondary shined even though it was without starting strong safety Raider Damuni. The senior will be out for about a month after sustaining an injury against Utah Tech, and was replaced in the starting lineup by Tommy Prassas.

“I thought it was a good game (for the secondary),” Prassas said. “I had a lot of fun. The environment was awesome. LES was rocking. I played with good energy. I was just flying around. You know, I had a couple opportunities to make a couple plays. Had a couple tackles.

“I feel like obviously I can improve in overall tackling, and making sure I’m wrapping up well,” Prassas continued. “They had some good running backs and they were running hard. So I think that’s kind of my biggest thing right now is to work on that.”

A nickel last year, Prassas said he’s been impressed by the development of Johnson and Alexander and the experience of Williams.

“We have a lot of depth in the corner room, and I think it shows Evan Johnson’s versatility to be able to go in the slot and make plays,” Prassas said. “We (went to three corners) in that game maybe because of the (Damuni) injury, but also because they ran a lot of 11 personnel and they had a high-powered passing game, and we wanted to do a better job at stopping that, too.”

Colorado State also has an experienced dual-threat QB

It doesn’t get any easier for BYU’s secondary this week, as Colorado State features former TCU and Oklahoma State quarterback Hauss Hejny. The native of Aledo, Texas, is off to a great start, having thrown for four touchdowns and rushed for another against Southern Utah as CSU improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2011.

Hejny started OSU’s opener last year against UT Martin, but broke his foot in the first quarter and did not appear in a game the remainder of the season. He went into the transfer portal for the second straight year and landed in Fort Collins.

“Yeah, he’s a stud. He’s got my respect,” Prassas said. “He makes a bunch of plays scrambling, and he’s a good runner. But he’s also got a good arm. He throws a good ball. He throws a good deep ball, and I’m excited for the challenge.”

BYU coach Kalani Sitake was also impressed after watching the CSU-SUU film and the CSU-Wyoming film.

“He’s got a really strong arm and quick release, and he’s actually really fast. Look at his 100 time in high school. … You can see on film the athletic ability,” Sitake said. “So he can run, but he also can throw the ball. He’s going to be a dangerous opponent, and they don’t mind using him to run the ball, too.”

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