From breaking records to LeBron James shoutouts, meet Puka Nacua, the ‘special’ rookie wide receiver
From breaking records to LeBron James shoutouts, meet Puka Nacua, the ‘special’ rookie wide receiver
In Canton, Ohio, between the busts of the legendary figures of the sport – from Super Bowl winning quarterbacks to era-defining coaches – stands a blue and gold jersey with the No. 17 on the back.
The name on the back might be unfamiliar to many, but even after just a few games in the NFL, Puka Nacua has already earned his spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Nacua’s jersey has been placed in football’s shrine to all things great and good because of the historic beginning to his rookie NFL season.
Drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of this year’s draft to relatively little fanfare, Nacua is exceeding expectations with a series of explosive performances.
Following Week 5 of the 2023 season – a game in which he caught seven passes for 71 yards and a touchdown – the 22-year-old’s jersey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the numerous records he had broken.
The headline was that he had recorded the most receptions (46) and receiving yards (572) by a rookie in their first five games.
At his current pace, Nacua will obliterate the receiving record set by a first-year player in the NFL, set by Jaylen Waddle just a few years ago, as the Rams wide receiver seemingly every week sets a new milestone for the most receptions by a player in their first year as a professional.
And for this unheralded player from Utah, it makes the achievement that much more special.
‘Holy cow, this guy’s special’
Football has always been around Nacua. He has three older brothers, all of whom played at Brigham Young University (BYU) at some point.
So when it came to transferring to his hometown university after a few disappointing years at the University of Washington – battling a broken foot and limited playing time from the bench – it was a no-brainer for Nacua.
Fesi Sitake, the wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator at BYU, vividly remembers the first time he encountered Nacua.
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“I remember the first game I watched of him in high school. I saw him make one of the best catches he’s had in his high school career and he’s had a lot of them,” Sitake told CNN Sport.
“‘Holy cow, this guy’s special.’ And as we developed the relationship in recruiting, I could tell that what you saw on the surface is who he really was, which was just a super happy, delightful, appreciating life, loves football, great personality type of young man.”
Once Nacau had returned home to Utah, Sitake remembers his dedication to learning and improving at BYU, explaining how he was naturally extremely intelligent at his position and also physically gifted, while remaining a warm person too.
Sitake describes Nacua’s physical gifts as being like a “gazelle on one play and a Clydesdale the next play” – a Clydesdale is a powerful breed of horse originating in Scotland where it was predominately used for agricultural means.
Paired with quarterback Jaren Hall – also drafted in the fifth round of this year’s draft to the Minnesota Vikings – Nacua blossomed into a dynamic offensive weapon, his physical traits making him stand out while his catching ability developed.
In the 21 games he played at BYU, Nacua caught 91 passes for 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns, including finishing seven games with more than 100 receiving yards. He led the Cougars in both statistics in his two years at the university, despite dealing with injuries at the end of his final year.
More than his ability to pile up statistics was Nacau’s uncanny skill at coming up with the big catches at the biggest moments.
Sitake highlights BYU’s clash with Boise State last year as a moment which encapsulates Nacua’s abilities as a player and a person.
BYU trailed with under a minute remaining, but Nacua was able to make a game-winning, acrobatic catch. Not only did it clinch the victory, it also helped end a four-game losing streak which Sitake described as being like a “little dark cloud that was over our program.”
“To feel the electricity on a sideline, to see the relief on our sideline, get the monkey off our backs, so to speak, to see Puka just elated. And it wasn’t for himself because he knew how much we wanted it, how much we were going through it as a team,” Sitake remembers.
“I just remember putting my arm around him and just having a great talk with him and saying: ‘That’s who you are, man. Like, when someone needs something, they go to you. And this is just going to be a small sample right here of how your life is going to be.’
“And then we end up finishing the season with four straight wins, and Puka was the catalyst to that … through the dark four-game stretch, he was just putting his head down.
“He was still smiling, he was still laughing, was still working hard. He never changed according to the environment around him and it ended up paying off.”