{"id":456590,"date":"2025-12-18T23:54:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456590\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T23:54:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:54:22","slug":"byu-junior-linebacker-isaiah-glasker-has-a-big-decision-to-make-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456590\/","title":{"rendered":"BYU junior linebacker Isaiah Glasker has a big decision to make \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The bowl game and opponent are different, but for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/07\/25\/byu-football-isaiah-glasker-jack-kelly-linebackers-season-preview-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/07\/25\/byu-football-isaiah-glasker-jack-kelly-linebackers-season-preview-2025\/\">BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker<\/a>, not much else has changed from the end of 2024 to the end of 2025 in regards to a difficult decision he must make in early January: Declare for the NFL draft, or return to BYU for his final season of college football eligibility?<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The short answer is that the 6-foot-5, 240-pound redshirt junior hasn\u2019t decided yet as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/12\/15\/byu-football-bowl-game-opt-outs-transfer-portal-staying-playing-martin-bachmeier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/12\/15\/byu-football-bowl-game-opt-outs-transfer-portal-staying-playing-martin-bachmeier\/\">No. 12 Cougars\u2019 showdown with No. 22 Georgia Tech<\/a> in the Pop-Tarts Bowl approaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cHonestly, I am not super sure what I am going to do yet,\u201d Glasker told the Deseret News on Wednesday. \u201cWe will just have to wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cougars on the air<strong>Pop-Tarts Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>No. 12 BYU (11-2) vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech (9-3)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Saturday, Dec. 27, 1:30 p.m. MST<\/li>\n<li>Orlando, Florida<\/li>\n<li><strong>TV:\u00a0<\/strong>ABC<\/li>\n<li><strong>Radio:<\/strong>\u00a0102.7 FM\/1160 AM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">One decision that wasn\u2019t difficult for Glasker to make was whether to play in the Dec. 27 bowl game (1:30 p.m. MST, ABC) or opt out, as some players in his situation tend to do. He\u2019s all-in, he said, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/09\/11\/byu-football-defense-jay-hill-leading-nation-scoring-country-glasker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/09\/11\/byu-football-defense-jay-hill-leading-nation-scoring-country-glasker\/\">never really thought about not playing.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI feel like it is a good opportunity to get better and just show more film for hopefully the NFL,\u201d he said. \u201cJust being able to play with the boys again, it is really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Another reason is that Glasker feels as healthy as he has since the 24-21 win over Colorado on Sept. 27 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/09\/27\/byu-cougars-colorado-buffaloes-big-12-football-live-coverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/09\/27\/byu-cougars-colorado-buffaloes-big-12-football-live-coverage\/\">when he sprained his ankle<\/a> against the Buffaloes, but still made the game-sealing interception in the final minutes. He broke his finger in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/11\/23\/byu-football-cincinnati-next-up-cougars-ucf-senior-night-kickoff-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/11\/23\/byu-football-cincinnati-next-up-cougars-ucf-senior-night-kickoff-time\/\">26-14 win over Cincinnati<\/a>, and has been \u201ctoughing it out\u201d the past month as that heals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cOther than that, I feel fine,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing off this last week and a half has been good and allowed my body to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Glasker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/11\/28\/byu-ucf-cougars-knights-battle-provo-weather-snow-kickoff-cfp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2025\/11\/28\/byu-ucf-cougars-knights-battle-provo-weather-snow-kickoff-cfp\/\">chose to be honored on Senior Day<\/a> and did the Senior Walk with his teammates after the 41-21 win over UCF, giving many the impression that he had played his final game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Three other juniors with eligibility remaining \u2014 defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa, punter Sam Vander Haar and running back LJ Martin \u2014 made the same decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">However, he said that was a \u201cjust in case\u201d scenario, suggested by coaches so he would always have that moment if he chose to leave for the NFL. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">After he was named Defensive MVP of the Alamo Bowl last December, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2024\/12\/28\/byu-cougars-dominated-colorado-buffaloes-in-alamo-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/sports\/2024\/12\/28\/byu-cougars-dominated-colorado-buffaloes-in-alamo-bowl\/\">having made eight tackles and an interception<\/a> against Deion Sanders\u2019 Colorado Buffaloes, Glasker said he wasn\u2019t really close to leaving for the NFL, but submitted the paperwork for an evaluation anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cThey told me to come back,\u201d he said last spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Glasker, who began his career at BYU as a safety and was convinced by coach Kalani Sitake to move to linebacker because it would give him his best chance to play professionally, moved onto NFL radars last year when he finished with 70 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions (including a pick-six against Arizona).<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Due to the aforementioned injuries, he wasn\u2019t quite as productive this season, despite having played in all 13 games to date. He is third on the team with 61 tackles (33 unassisted) and also has three sacks and two interceptions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI would say I am pretty happy with how the season has gone,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like we didn\u2019t do exactly what we wanted to do, which was to get to the College Football Playoffs. \u2026 But getting an opportunity to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl is still something to be grateful for. Really, we have had a great season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Safeties Faletau Satuala (78) and Tanner Wall (66) lead the Cougars in tackles, but defensive coordinator Jay Hill said that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. Fellow linebacker Jack Kelly (55) ranks fourth, having played in one fewer game than the top three.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe use those guys a lot in the run fits, and in this defense, safeties are always going to be close to the top of that. I mean, that could be for a lot of reasons right now,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThat\u2019s (Satuala) just being a playmaker and showing up. I mean, he had a really, really good year, and he\u2019s one of our best players, so it doesn\u2019t surprise me that he was up there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Satuala, a sophomore, might be BYU\u2019s next surefire pro prospect, after Kelly \u2014 who will definitely be playing his final game in Cougar blue on the 27th. On Thursday, Satuala was named a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">As for Glasker, he said he will lean on his parents \u2014 former BYU athletes Stephen (baseball) and Melissa (volleyball) \u2014 and older sisters who played college volleyball to help him make the decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI talk to my parents about it all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like it is in my best interest just to wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Another strong performance in a bowl game against a good opponent \u2014 like last year \u2014 just might tip the scales.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4PUMIP2C5VH3TKISOADWD3ROBY.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>BYU safety Faletau Satuala (11) celebrates after a play against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the Big 12 championship game held at AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The bowl game and opponent are different, but for BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker, not much else has changed&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":456591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,1680,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-456590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-news-feed-local","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115743272094945869","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}