At Utah’s colleges, the Bingham Miners football team was well represented in 2024. From St. George to Cedar City and from Provo to Logan, BHS alums dotted all six Division I rosters. 

Isaiah Glasker – Linebacker & Weylin Lapuaho – Offensive Tackle – BYU 

No Bingham High School Miners football player got more publicity this past season than Isaiah Glasker. The 6-foot-5-inch 235-pound sophomore linebacker played sparingly as a freshman for the Cougars. 

But, Glasker and his Cougars shined in a big way in 2024. The Bingham Miners standout went from three total tackles in 2023 to 70 this past season, a team-high. 

In addition to notching those 70 tackles at linebacker for BYU, Glasker helped lead the Cougars to a final No. 17 national ranking and 36-14 win at the Alamo Bowl against No. 22 Colorado. 

BYU ended the season with a 11-2 record and was ranked among the top 20 teams in the country in fewest yards allowed per game, passing yards allowed and points allowed. 

Glasker completed his sophomore season at BYU with 70 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions and an interception returned for a touchdown. 

He joined Weylin Lapuaho, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound junior offensive tackle who appeared in all 13 games for the Cougars in 2024 and had one tackle in the Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado. 

Lapuaho transferred to BYU in 2022 after starting in 13 games as a true freshman at Utah State. In 2023, the Bingham Miner had 10 starts for the Cougars. 

Junior Tafuna & Simote Pepa - Defensive Line  – Utah 

Junior Tafuna has always been the player to lead the team’s traditional Haka, a Polynesian dance to send his Utah Utes warriors into battle. He’s been doing the same at the postseason Hula Bowl in Orlando, Florida. 

In 2024, the Bingham Miner Tafuna had 31 total tackles for the 5-7 Utes along with one interception. It capped a four-year career at Utah in which Tafuna, who is a mid-to-late-round NFL Draft prospect according to news services, compiled 108 tackles, had 53 solo tackles, seven pass deflections, eight sacks and two interceptions. 

Simote Pepa battled injuries the past two years—he had a career-high 27 tackles and four sacks in 2022 during Utah’s Pac-12 championship winning season that led to a Rose Bowl berth. 

In 2024, Pepa registered 10 tackles for the Utes, recording a season-high four solo tackles in Utah’s 23-14 win against Baylor. In 2023, Pepa finished his sophomore year with eight tackles for the Utes. 

Pepa is currently in the transfer portal and has committed to the University of Washington for 2025. 

Bo & George Maile – Defensive Tackle/Offensive Tackle – Utah State 

The Maile brothers highlight the Bingham Miners who played in Logan in 2024. 

The 6-foot-2, 295-pound junior Bo had his best season for the 4-8 Aggies in 2024 from a statistical perspective, racking up 19 tackles, 12 of which were assisted, and helped himself to a quarterback sack. 

Bo Maile has continued to earn more playing time and become more involved at Utah State as a player. He had 14 tackles and a sack in 2023, helping lead the Aggies to a 6-7 season and a berth in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. 

In 2022, Bo even saw varsity action as a freshman, recording seven tackles en route to a 6-7 team record and a spot in the First Responder Bowl in Texas. 

Maile joined brother George Maile, an offensive tackle, as a Bingham Miner on the Aggies roster. 

George, a 6-foot-3, 305-pounder who transferred from Baylor to USU before his junior year, played in 11 games for Utah State as a junior. 

Lavaka Taukeiaho – Offensive Tackle – Weber State 

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound sophomore played in a career-high nine games for the Wildcats in 2024, having come off a redshirt year in 2023 in which he saw action in four games. 

Ulli Angilau – Defensive Tackle – Utah Tech 

As a 6-foot-2, 270-pound sophomore, Angilau had a solid season from a statistical perspective. He recorded 14 tackles and registered a sack for the Trailblazers. 

Prior to that, Angilau was at Snow College in Ephraim and had 25 tackles, four tackles for a loss along with two fumble recoveries in 2023. 

Braedon Wissler – Running Back – Southern Utah 

The redshirt junior transfer is certainly the smallest in stature of the group of Bingham Miners that made this list of guys that played at Division I schools around the state. 

At 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds, Wissler may look small to most. But he can certainly pack a wallop. In 2024, Wissler ran for 249 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and had 86 yards receiving. 

This 2024 total was significantly lower than the 790 total yards and six touchdowns that the Bingham Miner scored as a sophomore in 2023.  

As a freshman at SUU, Wissler had 422 yards and one rushing TD and also had a career-high 240 yards receiving for the T-Birds. 

During his three years at the Cedar City school, Wissler has had over 2,300 total yards once you count all of the kick return yardage he’s amassed, capping a very successful 2024 for your Bingham Miners in the world of Division I college football. λ