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Freshmen were the story of Saturday's BYU football scrimmage, on both sides of the ball.

But while tight end Matt Bushman got loads of ink for his big day, linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi wasn't as lauded for picking off a pair of Tanner Mangum's passes.

Monday, coach Kalani Sitake said the Brighton High product who is the nephew of linebackers coach Steve Kaufusi could be just as good as his cousins, Bronson and Corbin.

"He's been great," Sitake said. "He is going to be a special player. I am really excited about him."

Isaiah Kaufusi, who returned from a church mission last May and redshirted in 2016, might not see a lot of time in 2017 because he's behind junior star Francis Bernard at boundary linebacker on the depth chart. But give him time.

The Cougars might collectively have the best group of linebackers in 10 years, maybe more.

"That is huge, because they are the guys that run the defense pretty much," Sitake said. "They make the adjustments and are making the calls up front. So having those three back [Butch Pau'u, Fred Warner and Bernard] is huge for us. Then having guys like Isaiah and Adam Pulsipher, who is a returning guy for us, is big. He is pushing for a starting position as well. And Morgan Unga [is pushing for time as well]. But those three guys are proven guys."

Kaufusi said he "didn't feel bad" about picking off Mangum twice, but cut the QB some slack.

"When we played Wyoming, I remember talking to Tanner," Kaufusi said. "The ball was slippery and it is hard to throw in the rain. There were many factors that helped us, this rain especially, on the defensive side."

Isaiah is the son of Jeff Kaufusi, a former University of Utah player, a defensive lineman for the Utes in the mid-1990s. Isaiah committed to the Cougars as a sophomore at Brighton, but took some other visits at the behest of his dad before solidifying that commitment after his senior year and signing with the Cougars in February of 2014.

"I grew up a Utah fan, but once I got into high school I saw the light and BYU started looking good," he said.

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The Cougars are set at linebacker and cornerback, with Dayan Ghanwoloku (Lake) and Troy Warner the starters at corner and Chris Wilcox, Michael Shelton, Isaiah Armstrong, Trevor Brent, Jackson McChesney (when he returns from knee surgery) among those backing them up.

There's a huge hole at free safety with the graduation of Kai Nacua, a standout at Pro Day last Friday.

Sitake said Monday that Texas Tech transfer Tanner Jacobson, Stansbury product Zayne Anderson and Utah transfer Austin Lee are in the running for that spot. Matt Hadley, who saw significant time there last year, is running with the running backs this spring when he's not nursing a foot injury.

"Well Jacobson has done a great job, but there are a bunch of [other] guys there, too," Sitake said. "Austin Lee is there, and Sawyer Powell and Zayne Anderson. [Timpview recruit] Chaz Ah You is around the corner, too. There are a lot of guys who will battle for that spot, and Micah Hannemann's position [strong safety], too. So we feel good about our four [starting] DBs, and our goal is to get the best coverage guys, so we may shift some things around and we will see what happens. The best four DBs will play."

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Sitake said he loves what defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki is doing with the defensive line, having made the switch with Steve Kaufusi last month.

"The byproduct of the move with coach Kaufusi and coach Tuiaki switching and [Tuiaki] being with the D line and Steve being with the linebackers has been actually a lot more cohesive than I thought," Sitake said. "They are all on the same page and our backers and our communication with our front and our backers hasn't been any better. This is as good as it gets. It is as the point now that Steve, being familiar with the front, is able to teach our backers what to expect from our D linemen, and vice versa. So our front seven, I am really pleased with right now. They are doing really good things. The corners, if we can keep things quiet, that's usually a good sign. At corner, you really didn't hear much from Troy and Dayan because they just did their job."

The defensive line is far more unsettled as the Cougars go about replacing Travis Tuiloma, Logan Taele and Sae Tautu and await the return of Merrill "Meti" Taliauli, who had knee surgery last fall and will rejoin the team in August. Whether Tomasi Laulile and/or Sione Takitaki will return is not clear. Neither playmaker is in spring camp.

Sophomore Trajan Pili is emerging as a possible starter, Corbin Kaufusi is back full-time after playing basketball through early March, and Solomone Wolfgramm, a tight end last fall, showed promise in the spring scrimmage. Sitake said senior Kesni Tausinga "has been a different player this spring," and coaches are "starting to see a lot of good things out of Handsome Tanielu."

Redshirt freshman Uriah Leiataua and junior Tevita Mo'unga continued to improve and could be factors next fall.

"Tuiaki has done a great job with the defense, and having [Ed] Lamb and [Jernaro] Gilford and Kaufusi work with them there [is progressing]," Sitake said. "Those guys last year did a good job with creating turnovers and making plays and now our defense is a little more comfortable with the scheme. We are having Fred Warner lead the way, and Butch. Those guys do a good job demanding more from the defensive guys. It helps having cornerbacks that are returning, that started a lot of games, so we are not as young on defense as people think.

I think D tackle-wise we are going to be fine," Sitake continued. "And I think once [Tuiaki] starts working with that D line … He is a great technician. He knows how to teach the D line how to get to the quarterback and how to disrupt the run with a four man rush."