Lopini Katoa Looks Forward To Competition With New Running Back Teammates
Jun 28, 2019, 12:56 PM | Updated: 1:05 pm
Brigham Young Cougars running back Lopini Katoa (4) tries to stiff-arm Hawaii Warriors defensive lineman Kaimana Padello (96) as BYU and Hawaii play at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU sophomore running back Lopini Katoa was the Cougars leading rusher a season ago running for 423 yards. Along with being the leading rusher, Katoa also led the team in touchdowns. Katoa had eight rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in his redshirt freshman season.
When a freshman has that much success in their first season playing, they usually are the clear-cut favorite to be a starter the following year. That isn’t the case for Katoa or anyone in the BYU football program as they have to win their job every day in practices.
Katoa will have talented teammates that he will compete against for the starting job in graduate transfers Ty’Son Williams from South Carolina and Emmanuel Esukpa from Rice.
“When they (Williams and Esukpa) got here, I got to know them. It’s been super good to get know them,” said Katoa on the Cougar Tracks Podcast. “They’re good kids and they work hard. So my natural response (to them joining the team), we’re just here to compete and make each other better.”
Along with Williams and Esukpa, preferred walk-on Tyler Allgeier and junior Kavika Fonua are also in the mix to earn playing time.
Katoa caught up with me for a new episode of the Cougar Tracks podcast.
You can listen to this entire episode of Cougar Tracks below. Here are some other topics that were discussed in this episode.
(3:09): Latest on American Athletic Conference realignment rumors
(5:18): Explaining why it’s important for BYU to have a healthy relationship with the AAC.
(10:55): Ideal setup for BYU if the AAC was strongly considered by the school.
(12:25): Strong ranking from BYU in the Learfield Director Cup standings.
(14:32): Interview with BYU running back Lopini Katoa
(19:03): Breaking down BYU’s running back personnel heading into Fall Camp
(23:59): Former BYU basketball stars Jimmer Fredette, Eric Mika, and Elijah Bryant competing in the NBA Summer League next month.
You can subscribe to the Cougar Tracks Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and any other major podcasting platform.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
