Provo • Sacks are overrated.

BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga drew a few eyebrows when he made that offhand quip ahead of his first season leading the defense.

True or not, the havoc they’ve created has been priceless for No. 8 BYU football.

The Cougars (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) have eight sacks through the first four games of the season, led by Tausili Akana’s 3.5, which ranks third in the Big 12 and 23rd in the nation.

The former Skyridge High standout, who started his collegiate career at Texas before transferring to Provo last season, has been something of a standout for BYU, which ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense at 14.3 points per game.

That’s the endgame, Poppinga noted with his oft-cited quip: Sacks are great, if they help stop points. Ditto for tackles for loss, pass breakups and — perhaps the ultimate stat — turnovers, where BYU ranks ninth nationally with a plus-1.25 turnover margin.

Sure, sacks may be overrated — unless, of course, they’re not. And sometimes they can make all the difference.

Akana certainly has been a difference-maker.

“He’s naturally and instinctively in the right spot at the right time,” BYU outside linebackers coach Chad Kauha’aha’a said of Akana. “Sometimes, it’s because of his ability … Sometimes us coaches are given too much credit, when it should go to mom and dad. That’s just Tausili being an athlete.”

Last season, BYU had 30 sacks, led by 10 from former Kearns High star Jack Kelly.

So far, the Cougars have kept pace with that production, despite Kelly now playing for the New York Giants.

Akana has played a key role in the increased production, as have sophomore Nusi Taumoepeau and freshman Braxton Lindsey.

Lindsey tallied his first career sack in Saturday’s 17-10 win over TCU that at times proved offensive for its lack of offensive dynamism.

“First of many for him,” Taumoepeau said.

It was the kind of game Poppinga expected, or at least hoped for, from his players. He usually categorizes it with one word: havoc.

“[Poppinga] always brings up causing havoc and creating havoc on every play,” Taumoepeau said. “I think that’s a big reason why we get turnovers, and a big reason for our success.”

Taumoepeau has also been key to the Cougars’ pass-rush success. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound sophomore who prepped at nearby Westlake High started to emerge a year ago when he had 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops and two tackles for loss in nine games, including one start.

His freshman year was slowed by an injury that required surgery in the offseason.

Taumoepeau reminds Kauha’aha’a, the former All-WAC edge rusher at Utah, of a few standouts he’s coached in his career. One he mentioned is Laiatu Latu, a former first-round NFL draft pick who was a unanimous All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year at UCLA.

“Nusi has a lot of those abilities and reflexes that go into that pass-rush ability,” said the edge coach who moved over from a defensive analyst role following Poppinga’s promotion.

“People probably don’t see it, but he’s still battling through [an injury],” he added. “It’s an ongoing process, something he has to get used to, and I think once he gets over that threshold he’s going to be an even more special player.”

Taumoepeau said he’s starting to feel the game slow down from his edge position, but that he also has a lot left to learn.

He also credits his position coach for the “big-time” improvement he’s shown four games into his sophomore season.

“He’s really tuned into the little details, and we see how much it matters in the game,” Taumoepeau said. “In practice, we always emphasize those little details.

“It took us some time to get used to his coaching style,” he admitted of Kauha’aha’a. “But once we understood his mindset, we were able to carry that into practice and into game days. His coaching style has helped us a lot, to be able to play freely and play like ourselves.”

It’s led to an emergence of Akana, Taumoepeau and Lindsey — and could lead to more household names as sophomore Hunter Clegg and redshirt freshman Kendall Wall begin to find their own form, too, Kauha’aha’a said.

“We have so much depth in that room,” he added. “Eventually, those guys will all get their turn. But right now, the depth is really good in the edge room.”