Michael Wadsworth tackles a dream in breakthrough final season at BYU

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Michael Wadsworth experienced a sobering moment in the weeks before his senior season at BYU was set to begin.

The 24-year-old safety pulled his left hamstring for the third time of his college career during summer camp. The setback prolonged a string of injuries over the last three years, which also included a broken leg and broken hand, and tested Wadsworth’s will to keep playing.

“I was like, ‘Dang, I want to be able to contribute to this team. Am I even going to be helpful?’” Wadsworth reminisced earlier this week. “I talked to my wife about it, and she said, ‘Just stick through it. If you stop playing, you’ll regret it. Just keep going and you’ll be happy.’”

Kara Wadsworth’s pep talk proved to have a major impact on the Cougars’ season. Michael Wadsworth leads BYU with 79 total tackles going into the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, which kicks off at 12:30 Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium, against Utah.

The Silverado High graduate described the game as the “perfect way” to end his resilient stint at BYU.

“He’s not a kid that’s ever going to give up,” said Andy Ostoloza, his high school coach. “There’s something ingrained in that kid.”

“He’s probably the best overall football player I’ve ever coached.”

Limited opportunities to live up to that type of praise frustrated Wadsworth in the past. After playing his first collegiate season in 2009 at Hawaii, he transferred to BYU at the conclusion of a Mormon mission in the United Kingdom.

The injuries struck immediately and constantly through his sophomore and junior years.

“My role on defense was diminished a lot, so I played on special teams and that was it,” Wadsworth said.

Determined to earn more playing time after persevering through the most recent hamstring pull, he dedicated himself to studying film for up to three hours a day in addition to the team’s normal practice and meeting schedule. But early in the year, it looked like he would continue in a complementary defensive role at best.

Wadsworth wasn’t even listed on the two-deep depth chart going into the season opener. He didn’t check in for his first defensive snaps until late in the game.

“We needed a player that would step up in the Nebraska game who would tackle,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “We put him in; all of a sudden, we were tackling. After the game, we were tracing it to who was that? And it was him. He hasn’t looked back since.”

Fans will forever remember the contest for BYU’s game-winning Hail Mary pass from Tanner Mangum to Mitch Mathews, but Wadsworth was the one to set it into motion. Wadsworth stuffed a rushing attempt for a loss of 2 yards on Nebraska’s final offensive play before a missed field goal to ensure BYU got the ball back.

He made another one of the Cougars’ biggest defensive plays of the year two months later by breaking up a halfback pass on a two-point conversion attempt to give BYU a 17-16 win over San Jose State.

“I came into the season with the mindset of going as hard as I can and if I pull something or something breaks, at least I did it,” he said. “If I play hesitant, then I wasn’t giving myself the best chance.”

The intensity has infected the rest of the secondary, including a budding star and teammate he’s known since his local days. Wadsworth decided to stay in Las Vegas for his senior year of high school when his family relocated to Utah, and moved in with a friend whose cousin was a highly touted middle school football player.

That cousin was Kai Nacua, who went on to become arguably the best player in Liberty High history before committing to BYU. Nacua is one of 16 players in the nation with six interceptions this season starting in the safety spot next to Wadsworth.

“We’ve been good friends for a long time,” Wadsworth said. “I love Kai ... I’m just really happy for him.”

Nacua was another player nowhere to be found on the depth chart going into the season. The junior wasn’t even with the team at Nebraska, as he was serving a suspension for his role in a brawl that broke out in last year’s Miami Beach Bowl.

Nacua hopes he’s done enough, including completing 100 hours of community service, to distance himself from the incident. Although their circumstances differ drastically, Wadsworth has provided a first-rate example of how to overcome adversity.

“It’s made me a stronger person, I believe,” Wadsworth said. “It’s put me in a great position to be successful even after this in going through trials and just keeping a positive mindset, continuing to fight instead of throwing in the towel.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.