alt=Brandon GurneyPROVO — A lot of expectation comes with having the name ‘Kaufusi’ branded on the back of your jersey at BYU, but Devin Kaufusi understands the expectation and doesn’t shy away from it.
Devin (6-foot-7, 257 pounds) is the youngest son of former BYU player and coach Steve Kaufusi and certainly enjoys the athletic bloodlines that his two brothers, Bronson and Corbin, did. That combination of athleticism and size helped vault both Bronson and Corbin to great success playing for the Cougars, although Devin is focused on another Kaufusi attribute and expectation.
“The expectation is to work just as hard as they did — to put forth that same effort the Kaufusis are known for,” Devin said. “That’s the biggest expectation and hopefully I can live up to all the hard work my brothers and certainly my dad put forth while I’m here.”
Devin is in his second year at BYU after serving a mission to Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is coming off a freshman season where he saw playing time in 12 games and even drew a starting assignment in two of them. His first contributions didn’t approach the level Bronson put forth during his own freshman year back in 2012, and perhaps was more in line with what Corbin showed initially during the 2016 season.
The comparisons are obvious, but contributing in any capacity as a true freshman off mission service isn’t easy, much less living up to the Kaufusi family name.
“It’s a tall order, to be like his brothers, but he has three years left, so I think by the time he leaves this program he’ll be just like his brothers were,” said BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki. “He’s made a name for himself and he’s certainly a guy capable of doing it this year. He’s come a long way.”
“It’s a tall order, to be like his brothers, but he has three years left, so I think by the time he leaves this program he’ll be just like his brothers were. He’s made a name for himself and he’s certainly a guy capable of doing it this year. He’s come a long way.” — BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki
As for which brother Devin may more closely emulate? That looks to be Corbin, at least initially.
“We’ve shifted him around from one place to another, trying to get him to do a bunch of things Corbin did,” Tuiaki said. “So we’re expecting Devin to do a lot of the things in just his second year that Corbin did in his last year here. So we’re putting a lot on him right now, but he has that capability. You may see it this year, but definitely by the time he leaves here he’ll be doing all the things Corbin did, and maybe perhaps a bit more.”
Those things involve playing all over the field, whether it be lining up as a middle linebacker, a rush-edge linebacker or as a traditional defensive end.
Of course mounting an effective pass rush while proving a unique and capable disrupter at the line of scrimmage is what perhaps both Bronson (6-8) and Corbin (6-9) ultimately did best, and is what Devin currently feels he does best.
“It’s a must-have when you’re a Kaufusi and with what a team needs,” Devin said. “I feel pass-rushing is my strength, but coaches are also putting my in positions that I feel aren’t my strength, but definitely feel learning all those different things will help me and the team in the long run. You have to learn how to do a bit of everything.”
Fortunately for Devin, he’s had great models to learn from in showing him how to do just a bit of everything and decide for himself if he wanted to work to emulate both his brothers’ and even his father’s success.
“I think I was able to sit back and observe maybe more than both my brothers,” Devin said. “So just being able to watch Bronson and Corbin develop was big for my own development and yeah, you feel expectations, but it all came down to how bad I wanted it, and to figure it out for myself if I wanted to follow what they did.”