Junior safety on BYU's 2026 roster.
6′4″ · 215 lb · Bountiful, UT
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
LB recruit
No. 345 nationally · Signed with BYU
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior safety on BYU's 2026 roster.
Buzz vs Tape
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 19.8 points in belief.
“Faletau Satuala BYU safety who will make it super hard for teams to pass in the middle of the field.”
Faletau Satuala
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. This is his third year in the same secondary at BYU. 2025 brought the first one: All-Big 12. One game to point at: 7 tackles, 1 TFL against Arizona — Week 2, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG 12
All-Big 12 mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Kalani Sitake.
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 63-7vs Utah Tech | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-17vs Arizona | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 41-23@ Colorado State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 28–17
vs Arizona
1 tackles for loss · 7 tackles · 4 solo tackles
With B. Bachmeier — 217 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 90.7 · 37 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD · F. Shurtz — 46 yards per punt · 5 punts · 1 inside the 20
Since week 2: +4 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Kalani Sitake, all run-leaning offenses — 26-4 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: passes defended (28th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kalani Sitake
Pass share
44.4%
95 pass / 119 run
Plays / game
71.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.9%
68 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #3 of 40 Big 12 Ss
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jaylon Carlies’s 2022 season.
Matches Jaylon on
Differs from Jaylon on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Filip Maciorowski's sophomore season at Northern Illinois (2025).
Matches Filip on
20 more on the roster · BYU team page