Hill, Leavitt, and Warner come up big in NFL Preseason Week 3

The Cougars had five alumni start for their teams in the third week of NFL preseason games (Ansah, Davis, Denney, Van Noy, and Warner).  Fred Warner made the most of his first NFL start by recording a team leading five tackles.

BYU also had eight alumni come in as substitutes, with Dallin Leavitt and Taysom Hill both having big games. Langi, Sorensen, and Williams were held out from their respective games with injuries while Brown, Laulile, and Pearson were also held out.  Trinnaman was waived earlier in the week from the New York Jets.

The following are the summaries and snap counts for each of the 19 Cougars on NFL rosters during the preseason.  Players are listed alphabetically by last name.

Ezekiel Ansah (DE, Detroit, No. 94). Ansah started in Detroit’s 33-30 victory over Tampa Bay. He recorded one solo tackle, one tackle for loss, and two quarterback hurries.  Ansah played 28 defensive snaps (43%) and one special teams snap (3%).
Preseason Totals: Two games, three solo tackles, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hurries

Algie Brown (FB, Kansas City, No. 30). Brown did not play in Kansas City’s 27-20 loss to Chicago.
Preseason Totals: Two games, no stats

Michael Davis (CB, Los Angeles, No. 43). Davis started at cornerback in LA’s 36-7 loss to New Orleans.  He recorded one solo tackle and two assisted tackles.  Davis played 31 defensive snaps (47%) and four special teams snaps (21%).
Preseason Totals: Three games, seven solo tackles, two assisted tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection

John Denney (LS, Miami, No. 92).  Denny handled long snapping duties in Miami’s 27-10 loss to Miami.  He played five special teams snaps (18%) and recorded no stats.
Preseason Totals: Three games, no stats

Micah Hannemann (DB, L.A. Chargers, No. 35). Last week Hannemann was acquired by the Los Angeles Chargers after being waived by the Cleveland Browns.  They put him right to work and Hannemann came in as a substitute in LA’s 36-7 loss to New Orleans. Hannemann played two defensive snaps (3%) and one special teams snaps (5%) but recorded no stats.
Preseason Totals: Three games, two solo tackles, one assisted tackle

Taysom Hill (QB, New Orleans, No. 7).  Hill came in as a substitute in New Orlean’s 36-7 victory over L.A.  He went 7-for-8 passing for 66 yards and a touchdown, with a quarterback rating of 140.6.  He also rushed six times for 35 yards and another score, a two point conversion, and made a tackle on special teams. Hill played 28 offensive snaps (42%) and eight snaps on special teams (42%).
Preseason Totals: Two games, 26-for-32 passing for 206 yards, two interceptions, and a touchdown; 16 rushes for 130 yards, and two touchdowns; a two point conversion, three tackles, three fumbles

Bronson Kaufusi (DE, Baltimore, No. 92). Kaufusi came in as a substitute in the Raven’s 27-10 victory over Miami.  He played 12 defensive snaps (24%), with one special teams snap (4%) but recorded no stats.
Preseason Totals: Four games, two solo tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection, one quarterback hurry, one fumble recovery

Tejan Koroma (C, Kansas City). After a promising summer was injured and waived prior to preseason.

Harvey Langi (LB, New England, No. 48). Langi did not play in New England’s 25-14 loss to Carolina. He suffered an internal laceration after a hit in the first week of the preseason and will likely miss at least a few more weeks due to concerns with his kidney.

Tomasi Laulile (DT, Indianapolis, No. 66).  Laulile did not play in Indianapolis’s 23-17 victory over San Francisco.
Preseason Totals: Two games, one solo tackle, one assisted tackle.

Dallin Leavitt (S, Oakland, No. 45). Leavitt came in as a substitute in Oakland’s 13-6 victory over Green Bay.  He recorded two solo tackles, and forced a fumble on a kickoff. Leavitt played 38 defensive snaps (50%) and 14 special teams snaps (54%).
Preseason Totals: Three games, nine solo tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble

Jordan Leslie (WR, Denver, No. 19). Leslie came in as a substitute in Denver’s 29-17 victory over Washington. He was targeted twice and had a 14 yard reception. Leslie played 19 offensive snaps (26%) and two special teams snaps (7%).
Preseason Totals: Three games, four receptions for 40 yards, one tackle

Kai Nacua (S, Baltimore, No. 31). Nacua came in as a substitute in the Raven’s 27-10 victory over Miami.  He recorded three solo tackles.  Nacua played 27 snaps on defense (53%), with another eight on special teams (29%).
Preseason Totals: Three games, eight solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble

Colby Pearson (WR, Atlanta, No. 84). Pearson was listed as a substitute in Atlanta’s 17-6 loss to Jacksonville, but did not play and recorded no stats.
Preseason Totals: Two games, no stats

Daniel Sorensen (S, Kansas City, No. 49).  Sorensen did not play in Kansas City’s 27-20 loss to Chicago. He suffered a tibial plateau fracture in practice earlier this preseason as well as an MCL injury and lateral meniscus tear in the knee.  After undergoing surgery Sorensen is expected to miss at least the first part of the season before he is re-evaluated.
Preseason Totals: Injured, no games played

Jonah Trinnaman (WR, New York, No. 9). Trinnaman was waived on Tuesday to make room on the roster for kicker Jason Myers.
Preseason totals: One game, no stats

Kyle Van Noy (LB, New England, No. 53). Van Noy started at linebacker in New England’s 25-14 loss to Carolina. He recorded two solo tackles and three assisted tackles. Van Noy played 23 snaps with the defense (33%).
Preseason Totals: Three games, five solo tackles, five assisted tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry.

Fred Warner (LB, San Francisco, No. 48). Warner got his first NFL start at the SAM linebacker position in San Francisco’s 23-17 loss to Indianapolis. He didn’t disappoint, recording a team leading five tackles (three solo, two assisted), with one tackle for loss.  Warner played 34 defensive snaps (48%) and one special teams snap (4%).
Preseason Totals: Two games, six solo tackles, four assisted tackles, two tackles for loss, one fumble recovery

De’Ondre Wesley (OT, Buffalo, No. 74).  Wesley came in as a substitute in Buffalo’s 26-13 loss to Cincinnati.  Snap counts are not yet available.
Preseason Totals: Three games, no stats.

Jamaal Williams (RB, Green Bay, No. 30).  Williams did not play in Green Bay’s 13-6 loss to Oakland.  He left last week’s game early with a mild ankle sprain and is questionable for the playing the rest of the preseason.
Preseason Totals: Two games, seven carries for 18 yards, two receptions for 14 yards, one receiving touchdown.

For more information on each of these Pros, click on their names.  It will redirect you to their player profiles which include short summaries of their BYU and NFL careers.  During the season I will update these profiles with week-to-week game summaries and statistics.

Note: Not all the profiles are up right now, but I’ll be adding most of them in the next week or two.

About Tyler Christensen 784 Articles
Tyler Christensen is a teacher, sports writer, speaker, and ultra-marathon runner. He is the founder of BYU Insider, D1 Recruiting, Virtual School Assembly, and After the Run. When he's not writing or speaking, he's spending time at home in southern Utah with his amazing wife and four children.
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