BYU lineman Keanu Tanuvasa responds to criticism from Utah fans, opens up about NIL and his transfer choice

Provo • It was finally his turn to speak.

After spending months being inundated with messages from fans, each one explaining why he betrayed his Utah roots, Keanu Tanuvasa had the floor this week.

This was the moment when he could tell them they had it all wrong.

Instead, Tanuvasa simply preached understanding.

“For me, no, I don’t wish that they would do anything [differently],” Tanuvasa said of the fans who had attacked him in social media posts over the last few months. “I just wish that they would recognize their understanding is limited. As a fan, you don’t walk those halls. You don’t wake up at that time.

“They do give money, they travel, they cheer. I love the sacrifice,” he continued. “I’m so grateful for those Utah fans. But they truthfully don’t understand what goes on in those halls.”

Which made the second part of the criticism harder. Because there was one person inside those halls who still believed Tanuvasa made a decision based on money. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in January that the “absolute overriding factor was NIL” in both Tanuvasa and former Ute DB Cam Calhoun’s decisions to transfer.

What would he say to that?

“If he believes it’s NIL, then he can believe that,” Tanuvasa said. “Again, I go back to my circle of what matters most. That’s my father in heaven, my fiance and my family. He may not understand it, but that’s all right.

“Maybe some people don’t understand why he came back [to Utah] for another year when he could have left,” he added. “But I’m not going to criticize him for what his decisions are, and I’m going to continue to wish the best for him.”

So what were the reasons that drove one of Utah’s best players to travel south?

The junior defensive lineman, who has been the talk of the offseason, explained his decision to The Salt Lake Tribune and his thoughts on the firestorm it created. He’s at peace with the decision, even if it angered a fan base.

To him, it was not about money. It was a decision about his health, his faith and defensive coordinator Jay Hill’s scheme.

Competitive offers from Utah and BYU

When the offseason began, Tanuvasa waited to sign his NIL contract.

After five days, he called his father to discuss his concerns.

“He called me and told me he didn’t sign it,” Shawn Tanuvasa told The Tribune. “Utah did a good job. They offered him something good. They offered him enough.”

But for the next few days, Keanu mulled over his options. On Dec. 23, he announced his decision to enter the transfer portal, and big-time offers poured in from across the country — some of which Utah couldn’t match.

“Utah did not offer anything close to what some of the money that’s being thrown around by Texas and Georgia,” Shawn Tanuvasa said.

Keanu Tanuvasa understands the prevailing thought, partly fueled by Whittingham’s comments, that BYU offered an NIL package that Utah couldn’t match. But Tanuvasa said the opposite was true.

“Fans would be surprised at the money that I was offered at Utah,” the defensive lineman said. “Utah superseded schools out of the portal, and people don’t understand that. I could open up about a lot of things. But again, that’s not the understanding that people are looking for. They just want a reason to talk. If they want that, then they can have that.”

Once Keanu entered the portal, Utah came back with a bigger offer, the father said. At first, he wondered if a larger initial offer would have been enough to keep his son at Utah. Now, though, Shawn Tanuvasa thinks differently.

“Would it have caused him to stay? Maybe,” Shawn said. “But he’s at a different place in life, and [NIL] is not an issue.”

If this were a money decision, the younger Tanuvasa said, he wouldn’t have signed with BYU.

“I would have gone to another school [if it was about money]. Texas, or Georgia, Alabama, or all of these other schools. But I didn’t,” he said.

He noted that BYU and Utah’s offers were competitive.

Inside Tanuvasa’s reasons for transferring

Instead, Tanuvasa said a primary factor in his decision was his health. He was often injured at Utah, especially last season when he played only seven games.

He didn’t think Utah’s training staff mishandled his injuries, but said he often played through ailments he shouldn’t have.

“I played through a lot of injuries for the sake of the team. When in reality, potentially, I should have given more attention to my own body,” he said. “Paid more attention to how I was feeling, because my business is my body. And if it burns out in college, then I don’t have it in the NFL. Maybe [that] is something that is not completely understood up there, but is understood down here.”

He indicated he felt BYU’s approach would help him better manage his body.

“[The Utes] have such a good culture that I would never knock because it blessed me to be who I am,” he said. “But a part of that, I have to admit, is the game of football has shifted a little bit. It’s a little bit different than being the biggest and the baddest. A lot of it has to do with understanding and being self-aware of what you’re doing with your body and how you’re performing; when you’re using it and when you shouldn’t be using it.”

It hit him when he was eating dinner with his fiancée last season and couldn’t lift his arm above his shoulder.

“She’s like, ‘Oh my goodness, have you ever thought about anything else?” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Can we talk about that later, at the end of the season?’ This team deserves my everything. I didn’t even want to entertain it during the season. But towards the end you have to be self-aware of the things that you’re going through.”

Tanuvasa’s faith, being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also pushed him to Provo. He served a mission out of high school before spending three years in Salt Lake.

“I know that it might be difficult to understand for some,” he said. “But from my standpoint, I make decisions based on what the Lord is telling me. And what he was telling me was there was room for improvement and growth outside of Utah football.”

Hill told him he could be the difference in BYU getting to the College Football Playoff next year. The Cougars were 11-2, but lacked size on the defensive line. Hill thinks Tanuvasa will be one of the best linemen in the country.

“One of things he said is, ‘There’s players, and then there’s pillars,‘” Tanuvasa recalled “And that’s one thing I try to be is a pillar.”

He understands Utah fans are angry, and believes they have a right to be.

“They hear reports that Tanuvasa’s leaving Utah, then they’re immediately going to have a feeling about it,” he said. “But they don’t understand the complexity of what’s behind the issue.”

And he wonders even if they did know, would they care?

“I don’t need to open up about the every detail of my life, because that is not what’s going to make them happy,” he said. “What’s going to make them happy is when they decide that their life is not dictated by someone else’s decision. It’s dictated by their own decision, and they can actually focus on what they’re doing and the steps that they’re taking in life.

“That’s just my little opinion on NIL [criticism]. I’m making good money here, and I would be making good money there,” he said.

And that’s why he doesn’t have much to say to fans anymore. The people in his life are at peace with his choice. He’s ready to lead BYU into 2025.

The fans can continue to talk. That, he said, is up to them.

“I’m at a point in my life that I’m not chasing money. I’m chasing the opportunity to be the best version of me,” he said. “I’m chasing the process, and my process is better down here.”

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