Lopini Katoa is a 6-foot-1 210-pound running back for Brigham Young University, recruited as part of the Class of 2015.
BYU summary: In five seasons at BYU (roster years 2017-2021), Katoa has rushed 316 times for 1522 yards and 19 touchdowns and has caught 78 passes for 744 yards and six touchdowns. He has also returned 12 kickoffs for 287 yards (23.9 avg). (BYUcougars.com).
- 2022 (Senior).
- 2021 (Junior). Played in 13 games and rushed 61 times for 242 yards and two touchdowns, and caught nine passes for 28 yards and a touchdown. Also returned four kickoffs for 80 yards
- 2020 (COVID Junior). Played in 11 games (four starts) and rushed 84 times for 444 yards and five touchdowns, caught 23 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns
- 2019 (Sophomore). Played in 12 games (four starts) and rushed 85 times for 358 yards and four touchdowns, had 24 receptions for 288 yards and one touchdown. Also returned eight kickoffs for 207 yards.
- 2018 (Freshman). Played in 11 games (two starts) and rushed 76 times for 423 yards and eight touchdowns, and had 20 receptions for 114 yards
- 2017 (Redshirt). Member of the scout team
- 2015-2016 (LDS mission). Independence, Missouri
High School. Katoa prepped at American Fork High School (American Fork, Utah), where as a senior he rushed 285 times for 1655 yards and 25 touchdowns, caught 44 passes for 575 yards and five touchdowns, went 4-of-6 throwing for 90 yards and three touchdowns, returned on kickoff 27 yards, and three punts for 65 yards. He had 2410 all-purpose yards plus 41 tackles (30 solo) on defense, with one tackle for loss, one sack, three passes defended, one forced fumble and two fumbles recovered, and two interceptions (MaxPreps). Katoa was All-County, All-Region, and All-State and was named the Region 4 MVP while helping American Fork to the state title game in 2014.
Recruitment. Katoa was rated 3-stars by 247Sports (0.8190), who rated him the no. 23 overall prospect from the state of Utah in the Class of 2015. He held scholarship offers from Oregon State and Utah State and originally committed to and enrolled at Oregon State. However, he later joined BYU as a preferred walk-on. Katoa committed to BYU on January 25, 2015.
Social Media. Follow and support Katoa on Twitter at @Lopini4, on Instagram at @lopini4, and on LinkedIn.
Resources: BYU Player Profile, 247 Recruiting Profile, MaxPreps Stats
