Keanu Tanuvasa interview Utah fans' backlash, BYu transfer and personal growth sparks more anger

(LM Otero | AP) BYU running back LJ Martin, right, speaks as teammate defensive lineman Keanu Tanuvasa looks on during the Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Frisco, Texas, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

Frisco, Texas • Keanu Tanuvasa says he emotionally “broke down” for weeks after transferring from Utah to BYU this offseason.

Since the defensive tackle made the move to the Utes’ in-state rival, he’s faced social media criticism from Utah fans upset about his decision to leave the program.

“I’ve never faced pressure under opinions of that many people, and that many people that cared,” Tanuvasa said in an interview on ESPN700 on Tuesday. “I broke down consistently over those first two weeks, probably, because I felt like I had given [my all] to the University of Utah, everything that I wanted to give it. I don’t know if there was a player that was more bought into that program than I was.”

He added, “I sacrificed, and I don’t want to sound prideful, but really a lot more than some guys were willing to.”

Tanuvasa’s interview immediately prompted new online backlash from Utah fans, fueled in large part by a misquoted comment shared on the social media platform X.

The swell of comments grew large enough that Tanuvasa addressed it later in the afternoon while speaking to reporters at Big 12 Media Days.

“I would say I misspoke, or at least it was misconstrued in the way that I meant it,” he said. “I just tried to say in my time [at Utah], I felt there were areas that I dedicated myself and had given my all to the university at that time. And I guess it was wrong, because it maybe sounded like I was comparing it with other people. I especially wasn’t comparing it to people.”

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake urged fans to “try to understand where [Tanuvasa] is coming from.”

“I don’t know exactly what’s out there, but I know that he loves Utah,” Sitake said. “I know he appreciates Utah. I know that his family feels the same way. I hope people can understand where he’s coming from and why he made the decision that he did. It’s not a popular one for a lot of people.”

Tanuvasa said he wasn’t surprised by the reaction from Utah fans to his comments.

“I understood transferring from a rival to another rival is going to be extremely difficult,” he told reporters at Big 12 Media Days. “So I think people are right in the way that they feel. I think there maybe could be a little bit more gray area sometimes, because I’m still 23 and developing. But I think people are right in their feelings to feel how they want to feel.”

Sitake, who also went from Utah as a coach to BYU, understands what the player is going through.

“I think sometimes people take things out of context,” Sitake said. “But if you know his heart, you know where he’s at. I think everybody can understand that. We just got to ease up a little bit and try to put yourself in his position.”

Tanuvasa told ESPN700 that his choice to transfer fractured relationships with his former teammates, too. He said he recently went to an unnamed Ute player’s wedding after reconciling following months of silence.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes defensive end Jonah Elliss (83) and defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa (57) move in to sack Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) in football action between the Utah Utes and the Florida Gators at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.

“I will still love them, even though there’s a lot of emotional feelings,” the BYU defensive tackle said in the radio interview. “Many of them are still bitter. I just went to one of the boy’s weddings, and it was a tough experience. But, I messaged him, and we’ve been talking. We distanced ourselves for three to four months when I left, and now we’re finally coming around to talking.”

In the interview, Tanuvasa said the idea of transferring from Utah popped into his mind after he tore his MCL “three games” into the season. He said he ultimately decided to transfer and not enter the 2025 NFL Draft because he was banged up with injuries and didn’t have the season he expected, which affected his draft stock.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Maybe there’s another home for me, maybe I’m becoming too content with the person that I fought to be at the University of Utah, being here for three years,’” Tanuvasa said on ESPN700. “I just felt like there was this thing in me that [was] telling me that ‘I’m becoming too content with who I am at the University of Utah, and potentially is there’s maybe another home for me.’”

Tanuvasa went further in the interview to say Name, Image and Likeness money wasn’t the ultimate factor in his decision to transfer from the Utes to the Cougars last winter.

“I recognized that money comes and goes, and if I’m gonna have an NFL career, then the money that I make in college matters, but it’s not life-changing,” Tanuvasa said. “Ultimately, what I needed to take into consideration was a lot more things of my spiritual life and who I wanted to become.”

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