BYU Football DL Victory Vaka Enters NCAA Transfer Portal
Jan 14, 2022, 4:36 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2022, 1:38 pm
Photo Courtesy of BYU Photo/Jaren Wilkey
PROVO, Utah – BYU football defensive lineman Victory Vaka has entered the NCAA’s Transfer Portal.
— Victory Vaka 🐺 (@ThereGoesVic) January 15, 2022
Last April, Vaka, a 6-foot-2, 350-pound defensive tackle, committed to the BYU football program. A former three-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite ratings, Vaka was once committed to Texas A&M early in his prep football career out of Westlake High School in California.
Vaka moved off his pledge to the SEC Aggies and later committed to Colorado before flipping to BYU last spring.
During the 2021 football season, Vaka gray shirted as he prepared to enroll at BYU in the winter semester. Grsyshirting is where a student-athlete delays their enrollment to the second semester of their freshman season. Once they are enrolled, they become a member of the team and can participate in activities such as winter conditioning.
Vaka was seen at BYU football home games during the 2021 season and even signed on with a Utah County-based sports agency group, Oncoor, to represent him for potential Name, Image, and Likeness endorsements.
BYU’s winter semester began on January 3, and in a since-deleted tweet, Vaka said on January 13, he was enrolled in classes at the faith-based institution.
When student-athletes enter the Transfer Portal, they can immediately receive contact from other institutions. In addition, individuals who enter the portal also have the chance to return to their current institution if given the opportunity by the school.
Wherever Vaka ends up transferring, he will be immediately eligible and have five years to play four in his collegiate career.
BYU football players to enter the Transfer Portal in 2022
Vaka is the eighth BYU football player during this 2022 cycle to enter the NCAA’s Transfer Portal. The others include cornerback Jacques Wilson, offensive lineman Cade Parrish, tight end Bentley Hanshaw, quarterbacks Baylor Romney and Rhett Reilly, and offensive lineman Mo Unutoa.
Out of that group, Hanshaw and Parrish are the only ones that have found new landing spots. Hanshaw committed to Liberty, while Parrish gave a verbal commitment to Utah State. Two teams that BYU will face during the 2022 season.
BYU has also dipped into the portal to add to their 2022 roster. The Cougars added commitments from Cal RB Chris Brooks and Stanford fullback Houston Heimuli.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
