The Cougars student athletes can a player profile seconds here on one O three nine at ninety eight three ESPN the.

Van Welcome Back Cougar Sports one O three nine ninet eight point three years being the fan.

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Today it is time for a little player profile.

I want to get to know one of the rising stars in this BYU wide receiver room.

Right, we've been discussing who's going to be the four or five guy in this rotation, and there's been a bit of a jockeying for that position.

There's been some you know, little injuries here and there too, which allows others to step up.

And I've seen tay Nikua, who we're gonna talk about in this player profile segment, begin to elevate his play, get into that rotation and make plays for his quarterback.

Because whenever you're you're fielding, whenever you're trotting out a new quarterback, guys like Bear Bachmeyer, maybe McKay Hillstead, most likely Bear Bachmeyer, you gotta create chemistry.

You gotta make plays for your quarterback.

Can Tatakua be that guy?

Let's get to know him.

Okay.

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Tannakua.

Shout out to Pinnina and the late Lionel Nikua.

He's one of six siblings.

Is the fourth nicoua brother to.

Donn A Byu uniform joins brother Kai, Isaiah Sampson and Puka.

It's in the fam.

White's name is Ellie.

Enjoys golfing and playing basketball before.

Byu was a three star recruit on twenty four seven sports dot Com a composite score of eighty five total, one hundred and thirty nine catches and twenty one yards and twenty touchdowns.

In high school.

As a senior, attenm View had his most productive season sixty six passes, nine ers, seventy four yards and nine touchdowns.

Was named to the.

Deseret News by they All State First Team in twenty twenty three.

So I caught up with him after practice on Friday.

Let's see what's going down in the Nakua clan right now?

Getting an update from Tanakua.

All right, we got Tanakua Byu wide receiver number ero in front of us here ESPN the fans.

So Tay how has camp Kalini been for you thus far where I think week three now getting into it.

It's been amazing.

I love it so far.

You know, it's a lot better than last year.

You know, coming from tim Fu straight and you know, just coming out of a high school program, I was still really needing to adapt, and I was still trying to figure out myself personally if I really wanted to pursue football and you know, trying to make it my dream and entering the next level and understanding all the things that come with it.

So I've just been trying to build off last year and uh, just wishing for the best.

You know.

I got to see myself in that rotation.

Did you come in in the spring of twenty twenty four or in the fall of two thousand?

So I was supposed to originally come in the spring, but then there are some graduation things going on, so I was sort of done with my schooling in like January.

So I got here like mid April.

Okay, mid April.

You mentioned, you know, whether or not you wanted to like go all in on that next level.

What made you think, Hey, I do want to be a collegiate football player and pursue.

This Pooka right in front of me.

I mean him being just a great mentor not only him, Samson, pook Isaiah, just all my siblings trying to push me, trying to help me figure out what I wanted to do with my own life instead of trying to chase maybe other people's dreams or just you know, trying to follow something that maybe I didn't quite want to do.

So I tried to, you know, embrace it and learn to love it.

What are the pros and the cons?

Being the baby of them nakoup family, you got a lot of mentors, a lot of coaches within the family, moms and older brothers.

Sometimes it's an interesting dynamic.

It's been amazing.

I mean I find it as a huge blessing.

Down from Ki all the way down to Pooka.

I've been able to learn from every single one of their like not only mistakes, but things that they were able to build off.

So just trying to learn from their situation scenarios and to always asking for advice.

I mean, they're a call away.

It takes away if it's a little drill that I've messed up on, or maybe a catch or just a little thing on technique, I'm sending it immediately to them to help me critique and whatnot, how to figure out how to get better.

How does your skill set differ from maybe Hookahs or Samson, both guys that played wide receiver your position.

I think us three we really have similar body builds and the way we play, especially our movements.

I think it really comes down more to a mental game.

Hooka, you can tell the tenacity that comes out of him, the way he's just screaming at nobody, Like, that's the mindset that me I need to instill myself.

And Samson, I feel like that just brings out a whole other level in us.

Well, the skill set is on display.

You've been rotating, you've been making an impact.

It's essentially a red shirt freshman year, right, So your red shirt freshman year, you have your core three guys that have a lot of experience, and then there's a battle at the four, five and six spot.

What do you bring to the wide receiver.

Room that can help you integrate into that four five or six year OWD.

I really like I feel like I'm a bigger friend too, and I'm able to get in and out of breaks well.

So I feel like anything that a slot receiver could do, I feel like I can do it just as good, maybe even better, and in the bigger frame.

And I also feel like I can rotate outside too.

You know, if I got a shorter corner, no matter, even if this guy bigger than me, I'm gonna be physical and I'm gonna win.

What has What role has FESTI played in your development?

Obviously here recruited you, here, wanted you hear.

And then also what role has Ray Singleton?

I think he coaches up some of the wide receivers as well.

Fesci is taking as he's trying to take on a big role, just trying to be there for me on and off the field, not just as a coach, but you know, almost as a father figure too.

You know, just a lot of things that happened outside of football, and you know, he's just like my brothers, my family.

He's a call away, it takes away and always willing to give me an advice and.

Ray, I love Ray too.

He's he's a great mentor.

You know, he's not too far from playing D one football, so he's always great to learn from and he's always good to help me push for a better mentality and what I need to work on technique and him MANFESTI, so I appreciate.

Both of them.

Who stood out to you on the offensive side of the ball and who stood out to you on the defensive.

Side of the ball.

You can highlight from your from your teammates.

I know that's a robust question.

You can go down a lot of pass but who stood out to.

You can name most of guys.

I honestly want to name the whole team.

But what I could think of?

You know, Trey Alexander obviously, you know how a number one O rolls.

You know how Deuce rolls.

Jonathan Cabea, Chase Roberts two on both sides, they can get the job done.

Evan Johnson, Maury Bomba.

You know our whole dB room, I love our DV room, They're all we got a whole bunch of dogs, our whole receiver room.

I think our whole receiver room could rotate.

I really could go on and on.

I love my whole whole line, D line.

You know, those are just some of the names that I could think of.

But our whole team, we all got dogs and we're all.

Ready to go.

How would you describe you know, going back to the family dynamic, you got some good football players in the Nakoupa home, yes, right, like and and and there was there was a dream that your father had before he passed, and I think he handed that and obviously the boys and you were very young at then.

How old were you.

Seven years old?

Seven years old?

When you're when your pops passed, how have you been impacted?

Maybe you know, negatively by that passing, you know what I mean, because that negativity can turn into positivity obviously, but percent and I'm sure that that's been your path one percent ago.

You know, just I'm sure a lot of people can't relate whether if you had like maybe a father figure maybe walk out or if you lost one.

You know, there's a lot of things you kind of feel like you missed out growing up, you know, looking out into the crowd, seeing my teammates have their both parents there, it would always hurt.

But you know, sort of things like that.

But you know, you tend to, I don't know, carry it with you.

But then even recently, if you've heard, I had my son of my own, so it's been a huge blessing and I'm very grateful, and you know it's yesterday or the other day during our camp we had a triple age commitment.

I was sharing a hardship hero and I can't remember the other age, but you know, just sharing that moment.

With my brothers around, and you know, touched me.

And I'm a vulnerable guy, so I tend to show my emotion and you know, just yeah.

That's all I got.

I can't even think.

Sorry, I was kind of taking off all.

Well, how has it changed your perspective?

Right, Like you you didn't have a pops yeah, you know, growing up into you know that young adulthood and even now it's like, yeah, you know, we all need mentorship, right, and your brothers feel that role, the coaches feel the role.

But it's still not necessarily shym But how has that changed maybe your perspective as you go into parenting?

You know, just trying to trying to listen to everybody.

Everybody has great advice.

You know, all my siblings have kids as well, and even the coach is just trying to listen to the little things that I need to do off the field, if I need to be there for you know, whether if it's Mark my son, my siblings, things like that, you know, just trying to be a positive impact where I can.

Because love that.

What are you currently studying and what do you want to get into today?

Construction management?

Right now?

It's been a good plan B because I've known a lot of people just being here in Utah, people locally, they you know, right after their college career whatever, they were able to start up a little construction business.

And you know, it's a good money maker too.

If my Plan A doesn't go as well as I want it to be, and We're blessed to be at a great school with top program so I'm gonna be able to rely on that as well.

Love that.

So, Tay, what goals do you have for yourself right now as you get into this twenty twenty five season.

I have some personal goals that I prefer to keep to myself that I see myself producing on the field.

But you know, someone's that I would like to series, you know, just.

Either getting in that starting rotation or just rotating, you know, letting the coaches have one hundred percent belief in me and letting them know that I believe in them, allowing me to go do what I need to do on the field, and having my brothers backs and whatnot.

Love that and why the number ero?

I really, I really did want to number train or number ten because you know, my first name is ted Angi, my mother name is Edward, and last name of the coulis so the first letter of all the initials spelled ten.

So that's how I kind of came up with that number in high school.

And you know, one of our quarterbacks right now is rocking it.

So hopefully maybe.

We can try and get that maybe in these next couple years or if not, you know, ero is not a bad number.

So beautiful number, yes, sir got to keep.

Yeah, we all we call you Tay.

But he just gave us the entirety.

I know, I know the government.

Hey, the government name.

So what does the name mean?

It means angel in Maudi.

Yeah.

So my mom she used to do, you know, dancing back in California.

If you know the Polynesian culture, you know they PCC dancing and whatnot.

So she had good friends back then in Kelly and his name was one of that stood out and I was able to be.

Blessed with it.

So yeah, it's a great name, and you come from a lot of brothers.

They got great names.

Yes, I recently saw a family photo.

Oh yeah, family photo.

Man, it's getting crazy.

The Nkula clan is growing.

So many of us give some love to Obviously, we know Pookah.

We fall updates on Samson and Isaiah.

How are they doing?

Everybody's living amazing.

You know, Samson just finished him and Kay just finished up their season.

In the UFL.

So hopefully I believe they should be going out one more season.

I need them to get back into the league.

You know, the UFL is cool, but we all know how the rock so and Isaiah, he's just been working and whatnot.

We all have beautiful kids of our own, so we've just been trying to raise them together.

And yeah, move on, moving on from there.

How important is it to have family close?

I know, you know, they're they're off playing, sometimes they're in the they're in the seasons thinking of that nature.

But how important is it do you have family?

To have family close on the weekends, have the family meals.

It's the best.

Mom's right down the road for me, she's a call away.

I'm like, Mom, you got my favorite meal tonight.

She's she's always excited for that.

You know, have the youngest back in back in the home and then always just bring all the babies around.

So it's it's a blessing because we still got I think there's three siblings in state and then the rest.

Everybody, you know, Kouka and Cali, Kai, everybody else.

So but they're always a.

Call away and I'm always calling them FaceTime them, see how them and their kids are doing and whatnot.

Why should be all you fans come out and support this team out of Lavelle this season twenty twenty five.

I mean, honestly, you just have to be there in level Edward Stadium if you know, you know, I mean, there's no other experience like that.

I've been in quite a few other stadiums.

But I mean not only that, our fans are sober, doing this sober and we're having a great time.

So go Cougarnation.

Let's go, ladies and gentlemen.

There you have it, Tay Nikua.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Love his personality, love his vibe, love his energy.

Extremely impressive young man and comes from great stock, great lineage, with his brothers paving the way before him.

Lessons learned right and lessons still to learn.

He's a young buck with tremendous amount of potential, and he's starting to meet that expectation within the walls of the home and within the walls of BYU's football organization.

Remember you, Washington State, Utah State, organ State, Hawaii, andw San Diego State all vibe for his talents.

You heard him say like he wasn't particularly certain he wanted to get into this college football game.

And he mentioned how passionate he is about his his education construction management.

And he said, I see a lot of guys just go all in on football and then they're looking for that next step.

They may flounder a little bit.

In not so many words, that's what he was alluding to.

We're grateful he's at BYU.

He's maximizing the talents that God gave him.

And it's great that he's at BYA because he can get a great degree as well.

If the NFL doesn't work out for.

Him, which he mentioned, We didn't bring it up.

He said construction management.

He said, my plan B.

And here's the thing.

One he's in the cook because he's thinking about everything going through his brain.

So you can tell that he's the youngest sibling.

He's watched his older siblings perform at the highest level, and he's seen real life and he brought up construction management, which, by the way, Ben is a great program.

My rugby teammate's all off doing phenomenal things.

If that didn't work out, it's a great degree to have.

It's a competitive program.

Now at BYU love that he's thinking about that.

And you can tell how mature he is for a younger sibling, Very very mature.

But that's sometimes a part of being the youngest.

You've seen older brother, middle brother go through things, so you learn, now, okay, how do I navigate this?

And I even love the perspective of that, and you know, you comforted me a little bit.

Got emotional of the a positives and negative of a father being there and not being there and how that impacts you.

And you can speak to this.

I can't speak to this that those that don't know I mean, Ronnie, I mean you, maybe you can speak to but you've had a personal experience that was extremely impact.

On your life.

Well, my dad leaving and not being at age at what age my dad left at.

You went to go fight in the war when I was eleven and then came back at thirteen and left and did not come back after that, And that was tough, you know, toughyers in Chicago being a black male and you know Tay who's also a person of color of Polynesian descent, that's tough.

You need your father.

And then losing my father he lost it at seven was younger.

Losing my dad at twenty six.

That impacts you negatively of things.

So that was tough.

So to hear.

How now he is a parent, you know, with his wife hearing those things and seeing my own self now being a parent, I love that and I love the maturity and the energy that he has because that does impact you, and it's been positive.

And now he wants to give back to his kid, give back to this community and seeing that he has older brothers and older siblings that have been examples.

So I'm a big fan of tay Nkua.

That interview impressed me a lot.

And here's the thing, Chase is going to be gone after this year, Ben, so who's gonna step up next year?

I'm looking at Tanicua now.

Aaronroddick said, he's starting to look like a Nikua.

Love to hear this from Tay.

There you go.

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Let's take a brief time out, don't go anywhere.

Still a lot to get to On a Monday, August eighteenth edition of Cougar Sports here on one to three nine ninety eight point three e