Kelly Poppinga was well aware that his new star linebacker Cade Uluave dabbled as a running back in the day.

At Mountain Ridge High School, Uluave’s blend of speed and power lent itself nicely to 1,600 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. He was so effective, his high school coach opted to stop kicking extra points and just hand Uluave the ball for two-point conversions.

But Poppinga, BYU’s new defensive coordinator, was curious how exactly Uluave’s speed would measure up at a new level and on the other side of the ball.

Turns out, there was nothing to worry about. He’s faster than pretty much everybody.

“He is maybe the second fastest guy on our team and we have some fast guys. Really fast guys,” Poppinga said, almost laughing. “When you put football pads on these guys and get them on the practice field, we’ve clocked Cade at 22 miles per hour. That’s faster than most of our corners.”

After an offseason of turmoil in Provo, where defensive guru Jay Hill left for Michigan, Poppinga needed an immediate win to calm the waters and put his stamp on the program.

So Poppinga went out and signed the best linebacker college football had to offer out of Cal. Uluave accounted for 100 tackles and three sacks last year, wrecking offenses with his speed. He’s ranked the 15th most impactful transfer in the nation by The Athletic.

And now he’s the reason Poppinga feels BYU is ready to break through to the playoff.

“Get to a Big 12 championship and make the playoff,” Poppinga said of BYU’s goals. “Make a run there.”

Both metaphorically and physically, Uluave can run just about anywhere.

BYU’s linebacker room under Hill was a position group trademarked by speed. The former coordinator stressed the need for rangy players who could get downhill in the run game and drop back to cover ground in the passing attack. That versatility allowed Hill to bring pressure from just about anywhere.

And Uluave is the prototypical mold at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds.

The plan is to transition him into Jack Kelly’s former role. Kelly was also a roving linebacker who led BYU in sacks but covered receivers and tight ends. He became one of the best linebackers in the Big 12, known for his closing speed. Poppinga sees hints of that in Uluave.

“I watched his film and thought he was fast. He looked really fast. But he’s faster and more explosive than I thought he was. When that guy pulls the trigger in the run game and goes downhill, it’s quicker than I’ve seen,” Poppinga said. “I’m really excited to see what he’s going to do in games in the Big 12.”

Poppinga will pair the Cal transfer with another all-conference producer, Isaiah Glasker. Glasker played hurt most of 2025 and sat out spring with an injury. But he is working his way back for the fall. BYU also has several other linebackers it will work in throughout the year.

“Glasker will be healthy. I just feel like we have a really good football team and we have a chance,” Poppinga said. “It’s as good [of a two-deep] as it’s been since I’ve been here. We recruited really well the last three years. Props to [Jay] Hill for helping out with that. He did a great job recruiting.”

Now the Cougars want to race past the questions and show what Uluave and BYU’s defense can do on the field.

Every year, BYU puts players through a running test that includes a 100-meter dash. Uluave ran it better than everyone.

“I was surprised by how fast he is. There are seven or eight guys on our team that are sub-10.6 [second] guys,” he said.

They are hoping speed translates to wins in the fall, and the former high school running back becomes as unstoppable to Big 12 defenses — just like he was on Friday nights in Utah.

“I can tell you what, I’m really glad Cade is here,” Poppinga finished. “That dude is a really good player.”