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Provo • When Bronson Kaufusi was asked before the season which possession he would keep if he had to give up everything else, he said it would be his wedding ring.

BYU's big senior defensive end, who will be able to afford a lot of things in about five months, can seemingly do no wrong lately, even at home. His wife, Hilary, a former BYU soccer goalkeeper, seems to have found a keeper herself.

"He's everything that I would want in a BYU football player," coach Bronco Mendenhall said recently. "He is the perfect BYU player."

Mendenhall said Monday that NFL scouts have been flocking to Provo to get a first-hand look at the 6-foot-8, 280-pound sack machine whose stock has been steadily rising this season after a not-so-spectacular junior year in which he was asked to mostly play outside linebacker.

"There have been tons [of scouts coming] through," Mendenhall said. "It is not necessarily the volume that come through, it is what position and what titles they have. And there's a lot of attention being garnered. I don't remember any more ever coming, from what I've seen so far."

That's remarkable, considering Ziggy Ansah and Kyle Van Noy of the Detroit Lions wreaked havoc at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Kaufusi, who recorded three sacks in last week's 52-10 romp over Fresno State to push his season total to 10 (tied for eighth in the country), has even captured the attention of opposing coaches.

Said Utah State coach Matt Wells, whose Aggies will try to contain Kaufusi on Saturday at Maverik Stadium: "The guy is a modern-day Goliath. … He's humongous and he's athletic. That's what Goliath had to look like, back in the day. I mean, he's intimidating. … The guy is a beast. That's beast mode, in my opinion."

Kaufusi was certainly in beast mode against Missouri two weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium, prompting veteran broadcaster Brent Musburger to proclaim: "He could start for Alabama."

The Timpview High product had 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and recovered one in the 20-16 loss to the SEC team, then followed that with one of the most memorable Senior Day performances in LES history. In addition to the three sacks against the Bulldogs, he had an additional tackle for loss, one pass breakup and one blocked field goal.

The performances are moving Kaufusi up the all-time charts at BYU; his 10 sacks through 11 games are the most at BYU since Van Noy had 13 in 2012. He is tied for sixth in career sacks with 25, and just five short of Jan Jorgensen's record of 30 since defensive statistics were recognized by the NCAA in 2000.

"Oh man, Bronson, that was one of the best games I have seen a defensive player play," Mendenhall said after the Missouri game. "I mean, he was all over the place, and played so hard and tried with everything he had to win that game. He was making plays downfield, upfield and sideways."

Kaufusi was ranked as the No. 10 defensive end in the senior class by NFLdraftscout.com, but that was before his recent tear.

"If Kaufusi tests well at the [NFL] combine, look for him to be drafted in the top 40 like former Cougar Kyle Van Noy," wrote Chad Reuter, a draft analyst for NFL.com.

Some scouts are saying that Kaufusi's season (2012-13) with the BYU basketball team served him well because it showed some hidden athleticism and versatility. It doesn't appear that the failed experiment of 2014 — playing him at OLB and dropping him into pass coverage on occasion — hurt his draft stock much.

"I've had great players that struggled with the standards here, and I have had guys that have lived the standards but struggled on the field, and he is great in all circumstances," Mendenhall said.

It has been quite a month for the sons of BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi, because sophomore Corbin Kaufusi, a 6-10 center, has gotten off to a terrific start on the basketball court. Corbin is averaging 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds and shooting 70 percent from the field.

So what's better, a Bronson sack or a Corbin dunk?

"Oh, you know it is a sack from Bronson," Bronson said. "Corbin's dunks? I can do that. He can't sack the quarterback."

drew@sltrib.com Twitter: @drewjay —

BYU sack-master

Bronson Kaufusi • Recorded three sacks, four tackles for loss, one pass breakup and a blocked field goal against Fresno State.

• Has 10 sacks through 11 games, the most for a BYU player since Kyle Van Noy (13) in 2012.

• Has 25 career sacks, needs five more to tie Jan Jorgensen (30) for the most at BYU since 2000.

• Nationally, ranks T1 in blocked kicks, T8 in sacks, T17 in tackles for loss and T19 in forced fumbles. —

BYU's career sack leaders

Sacks Player Years

35 Brandon Flint 1980-83

30 Jan Jorgensen 2006-09

27 Mekeli Ieremia 1974-77

26 Kyle Van Noy 2010-13

26 Jim Hermann 1981-84

25 Randy Brock 1991-94

25 Jason Buck 1985-86

25 Bronson Kaufusi 2012-15

Source: Cougarstats.com

(Note: Sacks did not become an official NCAA stat until 2000, so in BYU's record books, Jorgensen is the leader and Kaufusi ranks third.) —

BYU at Utah State

P Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

TV • CBS Sports Network