Former BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki is returning to college football as Oregon State’s defensive line coach.
Tuiaki, who spent seven years in Provo, was out of coaching this year. After his BYU defense bottomed out — ranking 93rd in total yards during the 2022 season — head coach Kalani Sitake let his defensive coordinator go.
It was a difficult decision at the time. Tuiaki had been Sitake’s only defensive coordinator during his head coaching tenure dating back to 2016. Their careers overlapped at several stops before BYU, including at Utah and Southern Utah. On another level, Sitake and Tuiaki were said to be as close as brothers.
Tuiaki has coached in Corvallis before. He was the linebackers and special teams coach for Oregon State in 2015. That same year, Sitake was the defensive coordinator and associate head coach.
The Beavers just installed a new coaching staff. Former head coach Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State last month after Oregon State was left out of the Pac-12 realignment shuffle.
Trent Bray, who was a defensive coordinator on Smith’s staff, was promoted to head coach. Bray was a former player at Oregon State and became a graduate assistant, position coach and coordinator there before getting his first head coaching gig.