Since arriving on campus, true freshman Ephraim Asiata has been earning praise from BYU defensive ends coach Kelly Poppinga. Poppinga gave another glowing review of Asiata on Friday, saying that athletically, Asiata is “on a whole other level” when compared to some of the best to ever come to BYU: Kyle Van Noy and Fred Warner.

When Poppinga was on Bronco Mendenhall’s staff, he was the position coach for Kyle Van Noy and Fred Warner. Poppinga coached both of them when they were true freshmen at BYU. On a few occasions, Poppinga has compared Asiata to Van Noy and Warner, although Poppinga believes Asiata is even more athletic.

“Man, he’s a special athlete. Even more so, a different athlete than (Fred Warner and Kyle Van Noy) in terms of his change of direction and explosiveness. He’s even got another level there that’s pretty impressive. We’re going to have to find a role for him somehow. He’s going to be a special teams contributor. The kid loves football… the love he has for the game, that’s what drives me.”

Both Warner and Van Noy have had extremely successful careers in the NFL, and the fact that Asiata is being compared to these two speaks to his potential as a college football player.

Asiata played with the second team on defense on Friday. Athletically, he is a top-11 defender and appears to be a potential solution to BYU’s past pass rush woes. However, given his inexperience and current weight, he will likely be used sparingly in 2024.

Poppinga announced that the top four defensive ends have been established: Tyler Batty, Isaiah Bagnah, Logan Lutui and Bodie Schoonover. Asiata would be next in line after those top four.