Puka Nacua prefers Ty Jones as a teammate.
The alternative? Well, that was profoundly less pleasant.
Nacua told the story last spring, several months before the four-star wide receiver officially enrolled at Washington. Back in his sophomore season, Nacua’s Orem Tigers hosted Jones’ Provo Bulldogs on Sept. 29, 2016.
Long story short, Provo emerged with a 25-13 victory.
Long story longer, Jones — now a junior receiver at Washington — left an overmatched Orem secondary wilting in his wake.
“When we were playing Provo our defense was game-planning, and everybody knows Ty,” recalled Nacua, whose high school is located roughly five miles from Jones’.