BYU Football Safety Position Analysis For 2025 Season
May 13, 2025, 1:51 PM | Updated: May 20, 2025, 3:05 pm
One of the projected leaders of the BYU football safety unit in 2025 is Tanner Wall. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – The safety unit for BYU football in 2025 is a position of strength.
Perhaps the biggest question in this group is how to give everyone playing time. Five players on the back end of BYU’s defense are starter-caliber players.
2025 BYU Football Position Analysis Series
Cornerback | Quarterback | Running Back |
Note: As of this publication, no official settlement has been reached in the House v. NCAA case, so we’re not currently capping personnel at the potential 105-man roster limit.
Personnel Snapshot
BYU football returns four of its top five tacklers from last year at safety. The lone loss was Crew Wakley, who finished with 44 tackles and two interceptions last year. He ended up transferring to the Purdue Boilermakers during the winter portal window.
BYU’s safety unit is one of the deepest on the defense entering the 2025 season.
The top five projects include a combination of Tanner Wall, Raider Damuni, Tommy Prassas, Faletau Satuala, and Talan Alfrey.
“Those five safeties, I feel good about where they’re at. And I know one thing, no one’s going to outwork that group come summertime. So I really like where they’re going to be come fall camp.”
BYU Football Safeties returning for the 2025 season
- Talan Alfrey (Redshirt-Senior): 9 Tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery
- Tanner Wall (RS-Senior): 53 Tackles, 3 INTs
- Preston Rex (RS-Junior)
- Raider Damuni (Junior): 26 Tackles, 1 Sack
- Tommy Prassas (Sophomore): 20 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Recovery (TD)
- Faletau Satuala (Sophomore): 9 Tackles, 1 INT
- Matthias Leach (RS-Freshman)
- Payton VanSteenkiste (RS-Freshman)
- Jarinn Kalama (RS-Freshman)
Gone from the 2024 roster
- Micah Harper (Transfer Portal, Montana)
- Crew Wakley (Transfer Portal, Purdue)
- Ethan Slade (Graduation)
- Malae Tanuvasa
2025 Newcomers
- Liutai Kiniki (Returned Missionary)
Veterans returning
BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill likes the depth he has at safety. A former safety himself at Utah, Hill oversees the safety position along with analyst Gavin Fowler.
Since Hill arrived at BYU in 2023, he has wanted to see a First-Team All-Big 12 performer emerge at safety.
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The 2025 unit could be the group with the best chance of producing a top-shelf Big 12 safety.
Last year, Tanner Wall emerged as BYU’s first First-Team Academic All-American in 14 years.
Wall, a former walk-on wide receiver from Arlington, Virginia, was a co-captain for BYU last season at the free safety spot. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound graduate senior was excellent last year with three interceptions, which included an acrobatic pick in the win over Arizona last October.
He started in all 13 games for a BYU defense that finished No. 1 in the Big 12 last year.
“Tanner Wall, there’s a reason why he was a First-Team Academic All-American. He’s super smart, very sound. I trust him,” Jay Hill said to KSL Sports in March.
Another veteran returning in 2025 is junior Raider Damuni.
A heralded recruit coming out of Timpview High School, Damuni began to hit his stride on the backend of BYU’s defense. He finished last year with 26 tackles and one sack.
When Crew Wakley departed last year during bowl prep, Damuni stepped in as BYU’s starter at strong safety, and the Cougar defense didn’t skip a beat.
Damuni has displayed a strong understanding of the defense. He’s a candidate to take another big step forward this season.
BYU also brings back Talan Alfrey for his final season. Alfrey has navigated a lot throughout his BYU football career.
The former class of 2018 signee has dealt with injuries and inconsistent roles during his time in Provo, but he projects to be one of BYU’s top five safeties this fall.
Alfrey was a player Hill pointed out to KSL Sports for “really playing well” in spring practice. During some offseason training, he was clocked at 23.5 miles per hour on the treadmill.
Sophomore Standouts
BYU has a pair of promising sophomores in the safety unit this season. Those players are Big 12 Honorable Mention Tommy Prassas and Faletau Satuala.
Prassas finished with 20 tackles last year, an interception, and had the memorable fumble recovery for a touchdown in the win over nationally-ranked Kansas State.
WE LOCKED IN‼️ Year 2 gon be a movie 😏 #gocougs pic.twitter.com/urNCgo6rlz
— Tommy Prassas (Pr-ass-is) (@PRASSAS22) April 20, 2025
Faletau Satuala, a former four-star recruit in the class of 2024, finished with nine tackles and an interception next season.
Both players combined to play 284 snaps last season as true freshmen. Prassas had 176 snaps, while Satuala played in 108.
What makes them intriguing is that they could play either free or strong safety spots.
Don’t be surprised to see both rotate with Wall and Damuni this season.
Tidbits on the rest of the safety unit
Matthias Leach: Redshirt freshman with great size at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds. During his high school career at Chisholm Trail in Fort Worth, Texas, he played safety and punter.
Preston Rex: Missed last season due to an ACL tear. He began running again last December, but was still out during spring practices in March. Rex clocked in on the treadmill at 23.3 miles per hour in offseason training with teammates.
Payton VanSteenkiste: Entering his second year on the roster. He appeared in one game last season.
Jarinn Kalama: Former wide receiver signee out of Wasatch High School, Kalama switched to safety during the fall last season.
Lituai Kinikini: Returned home from a Latter-day Saint mission in Argentina last fall. He enrolled in the program this past winter semester. A former three-star recruit in the class of 2022 out of West High School.
Projected depth chart at Safety for BYU football in 2025
Starters: Tanner Wall (Free Safety) / Raider Damuni (Strong Safety)
Top backups: Tommy Prassas / Faletau Satuala -OR- Talan Alfrey
Next in line: Matthias Leach, Preston Rex, Payton VanSteenkiste
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
