Sione Takitaki - Football | byucougars.com

Sione Takitaki

Linebacker 16

Ht/Wt

230 lbs.

Class

Senior

Hometown

Fontana,

California

Last School

Heritage High School

Roster Years

2014-2018

Personal

Parents are father Vaimaua and mother Fissipeau
Married to his wife Alyssa
Is the youngest of seven with four sisters and two brothers
Played volleyball in high school
Major is sociology

Before BYU

Three-star prospect by ESPN.com, Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com
No. 24 inside linebacker in the nation and No. 49 overall prospect from California by ESPN.com
All-CIF Southern Section Central Division and Defensive Player of the Year
Helped Heritage High School to a 13-1 record as a senior
Totaled 193 tackles over his three-year varsity career with 162 solo tackles, 21.5 sacks and 42.5 tackles for loss while also adding a blocked punt, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception
Also played offense as a junior and senior, totaling 1,673 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns to average 7.12 yards per carry
Coached by Kraig Broach
Also recruited by Arizona, Boise State, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah, Washington State and Wisconsin

BYU Hall of Fame

Freshman Year 2014

Tallied two sacks, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries against UCF
Played in 11 games and recorded 19 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks on the season
Earned letterman honors as a freshman

Sophmore Year 2015

Had his first career fumble recovery in the third quarter against ECU and finished the game with five tackles, including 2.5 TFL and two sacks
Notched a career high in total tackles (9), solo stops (5) and assisted tackles (4) to go along with two tackles for loss in the win over Cincinnati
Played in six games and started two

Junior Year 2017

Played in 13 games, starting 12
Ranked second on the team in tackles with 79, including 43 solo stops
Led the team with 12.5 TFL for 62 yards
Posted career highs in TFL (3) and sacks (2) against Portland State
Had a career-high 11 tackles at Fresno State
Also had five sacks for 36 yards
Received Defensive Player of Year at the annual team banquet

Senior Year 2018

Played in 13 games starting all 13, playing both outside and middle linebacker positions
Totaled 118 tackles, 31st nationally, to lead the Cougars
Led BYU in both unassisted (74) and assisted (44) tackles
Added nine tackles for loss, three sacks, four quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and a forced fumble
2018 Phil Steele All-Independent First Team
Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Team
USA Today All-Bowl Team
2019 The Draft Network All-Shrine Team
2019 Reese's Senior Bowl invitation
2019 East-West Shrine Game invitation
2019 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl invitation
College Sports Madness National Defensive Player of the Week–Week 3
College Sports Madness Independent Defensive Player of the Week–Week 3
College Sports Madness Independent Defensive Player of the Week–Week 11
2018 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award watch list
2018 Team Captain
Recorded a career-best 19 tackles in BYU’s 49-18 bowl victory over Western Michigan
Set BYU record for total tackles in a bowl with nation’s top performance (19)
His 19 tackles was one shy of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl record
His 19 tackles in a single game ranks No. 4 at BYU (since NCAA tracked starting in 2000)
Posted personal best 10 assisted and 9 solo tackles in BYU's bowl victory over Western Michigan
Became the 68th BYU player to post 100 or more tackles in a single year
Recorded career-high two pass breakups at Arizona
Recorded 14 total tackles and a forced fumble at Gillette Stadium in win over UMass
Tallied double-digit tackles six times including No. 6 Wisconsin (12), Northern Illinois (11), Boise State (11), UMass (14), No. 17 Utah (11) and Western Michigan (19)
Between the LYnes web chat with Butch Pau'u at Media Day