PROVO — BYU’s Moroni Laulu-Pututau was ready to make his debut at tight end last year.

After a highly regarded move to tight end, the former 185-pound wide receiver bulked up and was excited to lead the Cougar tight ends on a 9-4 inaugural season under head coach Kalani Sitake that included a Poinsettia Bowl win over former Western Athletic Conference rival Wyoming.

But on Aug. 23, just days before the season opener at Louisiana State, everything change.

Laulu-Pututau suffered a Lisfranc injury in the final days of fall camp, and his recovery took him out for the entire season.

Gradually, he watched his team degrade on offense. Injuries didn’t help, as he watched former LDS mission friend Tanner Mangum go down at quarterback. One-by-one, the other signal callers joined him on the injured/reserve list — first Beau Hoge, then Koy Detmer Jr., until only recently returned missionary Joe Critchlow remained.

All the while, the offense got worse and worse. BYU's once-proud reputation of high-octane offenses powered by "Quarterback U." was damaged as it suffered loss after loss — 19-13 to rival Utah, 40-24 at Utah State, 24-7 to then-No. 22 Boise State in a game that was building up steam as a regional rivalry.

Then came the back half of the season — and things didn’t get any better, with losses to woeful East Carolina and UMass.

And all Laulu-Pututau could do was watch from the sideline.

"Those were my brothers on the field, and I could only do so much in emotional support," Laulu-Pututau said during BYU media day in June. "It's frustrating because I knew we could be good and I know what we can achieve, but we didn’t do that. I think that gives me more fire this year to come back stronger and better."

After a year away from the game, Laulu-Pututau is also ready to earn back the trust of a brand-new offensive coaching staff under new coordinator Jeff Grimes, who has made an impact in making the players "uncomfortable" during spring ball.

"I believe in immediate recognition and reinforcement, but I think there are certainly a lot of guys who know they will have to earn their jobs. And I think that's a positive," Grimes said.

"In making them uncomfortable, hopefully, we are getting to a point where they are very comfortable in giving their best and competing."

Forced to use a redshirt season because of the injury, the former Mountain Crest standout receiver also had time to re-evaluate his goals beyond football. He spent more time with his wife Kiralyn, whom he married in July 2017, and dove into his studies while continuing the limited rehab he was allowed to undergo.

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Without athletics — he was also a three-year starter with Mountain Crest’s basketball team — Laulu-Pututau had to prepare for the day when his athletic career would be over.

"It's been hard because you play sports your whole life and to all of a sudden be taken away from that put a lot of things in perspective on my life," Laulu-Pututau said. "I didn't have football. I didn’t have sports. What is there? So it was good. It made me reflect a lot, and I really think I am coming healthier and stronger. I have a bigger appreciation for the game."

Now the 6-foot-4 pass-catcher is back. Even as he progressed through the stages of "healthy" and "recovered," BYU coaches and medical staff held him out of spring ball. He’s been limited in summer workouts, too, as the players run their own practice sessions while trying to overcome the 4-9 disappointment of 2017.

It’s all with the chance to be back where he wants to be in the fall — on the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium, playing and not just watching.

And he hopes to play a big role for a BYU squad that will rely heavily on just four tight ends, including former freshman All-American Matt Bushman, senior JJ Nwigwe and true freshman Dallin Holker.

"We're a pretty tight-knit group," Laulu-Pututau said. "There are just five of us — there are more quarterbacks than tight ends. We need every one of us."

The redshirt junior has put on 55 pounds since he first stepped on campus in Provo — he’s up to 240 pounds, but he plans to "slim down" a little before the Cougars’ first game Sept. 1 at Arizona.

Still, he's not the biggest tight end in the group.

That would be converted offensive lineman JJ Nwigwe, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound behemoth of whom coaches and players glow when speaking of his run-blocking at the end of the line.

And he doesn’t want his senior season to end like it did a year ago, boarding a plane from Hawaii after an unremarkable season save for several disastrous results.

"There was no bowl game, and we just went home (after the Hawaii game)," Nwgiwe said. "You could see it in the media, how our team was going. It was a big change amongst the players.

"We have to do better than that. We were better than a 4-9 team, and I think you could see that in spring ball. The passion went up. The energy was there. We knew we needed to do better."

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