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Provo • About three weeks after Signing Day in February of 2013, BYU announced an addition to that year's class, defensive lineman Tomasi Laulile from Westlake Village, Calif.
Aside from getting an interception last year against Middle Tennessee State, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound Laulile has mostly been forgotten because he's been buried on the depth chart behind seniors such as Bronson Kaufusi, Remington Peck and Graham Rowley. He redshirted in 2013 and recorded stats in only five games in 2014.
He got the start against Cincinnati last week, however, and delivered in a big way with a sack and two tackles for loss.
"I am getting to know the plays better," Laulile said Tuesday as the Cougars continued preparations for Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup with Wagner at LaVell Edwards Stadium. "That was most of my problem."
Outside linebacker Sae Tautu, another player whose playing time has increased lately, said Laulile has always been impressive in practices and is now showing what he can do in games.
"Well, Masi is a freak athlete," said Tautu, a junior. "He came out of high school with an NFL body, and he is real fast, real strong. He has a perfect body for a 3-4 defensive end."
Laulile, who didn't start playing football until his junior year of high school because his family moved around a lot, laughed at Tautu's "NFL body" comment and then said he is "still working on that."
Suspended in the opener at Nebraska for his role in the fight after the Miami Beach Bowl, Laulile said that as he has improved his effort, his playing time has increased.
Outside linebackers coach Kelly Poppinga said Laulile is "coming along really well" and gives the defensive line more depth than it has had in quite a while.
With Bronson Kaufusi and Travis Tuiloma back at full strength, "I think it is three of the best defensive linemen we've had on the field at the same time in a really long time, probably going back to 2012 when we had Ziggy [Ansah] and Romney Fuga and Russell Tialavea out there," Poppinga said.
Injury update
Punt returner Garrett Juergens had season-ending surgery Tuesday for a broken collarbone suffered against Cincinnati after having previously suffered a broken collarbone in a different place during preseason camp.
Also, linebacker Rhett Sandlin has a neck sprain and is not expected to play the remainder of the season.
Offensive linemen Kyle Johnson and Ryker Mathews, tight end Bryan Sampson and running back Riley Burt also suffered injuries against the Bearcats but are listed as day-to-day because their injuries are not considered long-term.
Mendenhall happy with 5-2 start
All things considered, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday he's happy with the 5-2 start as the Cougars move into the softer part of their schedule. They have a bye next week, then will play their first road game in more than a month on Nov. 6 at San Jose State (3-3).
The season so far "seems like one long game, right now, that we won in the fourth quarter," Mendenhall said.
Briefly
Wagner will be the eighth team from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to play BYU under Mendenhall. The Cougars have outscored their FCS opponents by an average score of 50-9. … New BYU basketball assistant coach Quincy Lewis was inducted into the Wagner Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 after shining for the Seahawks' basketball team from 1991-93. … After reviewing the film, BYU says that Tuiloma, and not Kaufusi, should be credited for the blocked field goal against Cincinnati last Friday.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Wagner at BYU
P Saturday, 1 p.m.
TV • BYUtv