Well, that was a blow. There’s different ways that you can spin it, but Utah is absolutely losing a guy that is a very technically sound defender in the trenches and a big-time team leader, regardless of if you want to call him out for how he handled going into the portal.
How it all broke down:
At one point on Friday I spoke with two different BYU ties that said BYU had lost confidence in getting Tanuvasa. It seemed like it switched to USC and Michigan. Keep in mind, signing stuff isn’t the same as it used to be. Because of this in my conversations, I learned that Friday morning the BYU staff thought that they had him, and then again it seemed like everything had changed. The Fano brothers are roommates with Keanu and they grew extremely positive to the point where talking to people around the program said that they felt like they had him back in their grasp. From there, I know that Blechen reengaged with Keanu to see what they could figure out NIL wise, but it just wasn’t enough.
A lot has been made about Keanu’s faith comments that he has put out there and whether you agree or disagree, he has the right to express himself the way that he chooses. I do know that this was not just about money that there are some underlying things to it as well. Those are things that unfortunately I can’t get into right now because I don’t want to burn my sources on these or do any damage in general.
I’ll have more soon on how Utah’s DTs stack up for 2025.
How it all broke down:
At one point on Friday I spoke with two different BYU ties that said BYU had lost confidence in getting Tanuvasa. It seemed like it switched to USC and Michigan. Keep in mind, signing stuff isn’t the same as it used to be. Because of this in my conversations, I learned that Friday morning the BYU staff thought that they had him, and then again it seemed like everything had changed. The Fano brothers are roommates with Keanu and they grew extremely positive to the point where talking to people around the program said that they felt like they had him back in their grasp. From there, I know that Blechen reengaged with Keanu to see what they could figure out NIL wise, but it just wasn’t enough.
A lot has been made about Keanu’s faith comments that he has put out there and whether you agree or disagree, he has the right to express himself the way that he chooses. I do know that this was not just about money that there are some underlying things to it as well. Those are things that unfortunately I can’t get into right now because I don’t want to burn my sources on these or do any damage in general.
I’ll have more soon on how Utah’s DTs stack up for 2025.
