Kyle Van Noy

Early life

Van Noy was born in Reno, Nevada in 1991. His birth mother placed him for adoption as a newborn through LDS Family Services; she was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but requested that he be raised in an LDS household. He was adopted at approximately three to four months of age by Layne and Kelly Van Noy, who were then living in Lodi, California. The Van Noys also had an older son, Travis.

The adoption was a closed arrangement, and Van Noy has not met his biological parents. He has said that his parents were straightforward about his adoption from an early age. In a 2017 interview with Patriots.com, he recalled: “It wasn’t that big of a deal. No one acted weird or different about it. You just kind of rolled with it.” His adoptive mother, Kelly Van Noy, told the Deseret News that the family chose to be open with Kyle about his origins from the start, saying, “We didn’t think there was a magical time that he was told. We’ve always explained who he was and that we love him.”

The family moved to Reno, Nevada when Van Noy was approximately 11 years old. His father, Layne, managed the city’s recreation programs and guided Kyle’s early athletic development. Van Noy attended McQueen High School in Reno where, as an all-state linebacker and receiver, he led his high school football team to a perfect 14–0 record and a 4A state championship in 2008, and was rated as a 2-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com.

In addition to playing football, Van Noy lettered in basketball, baseball, and track where he was an all-league performer (4 × 100 m, 4 × 200 m and 4 × 400 m). He also ran the 100 meters in 11.84 seconds and the 400 meters in 50.99 seconds.

Van Noy was ranked the 63rd best high school athlete by ESPN. He received scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State University, Boise State University, BYU, California, University of Colorado, UCLA, UNLV, Nevada, San Jose State University, and Stanford.

Freshman season

Van Noy was admitted to Brigham Young University. During the 2010 season, he played in every game while starting two and earned letterman honors. He recorded 35 tackles (24 solo) and was third on the team with 7.5 tackles-for-loss including 2.0 sacks. He also recorded two forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery (which he returned 44 yards for a touchdown).

Sophomore season

Van Noy played in all 13 games, starting in 8, of the 2011 season, recording 68 tackles and leading the team with 15 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries and tied for the team-lead with three interceptions. During the 2011 season, Van Noy was the only FBS Division I player to record a stat in each of the following categories: tackle, tackle for loss, sack, interception, pass breakup, quarterback hurry, fumble recovery, forced fumble, blocked kick and touchdown. As he did in the 2010 season, he again recovered a fumble (which he forced), which he returned for the game-winning touchdown.

He was named to the Phil Steele All-Independent First-team, Yahoo! Sports All-Independent Team and FBS All-Independent Team.

Junior season

In 2012, Van Noy was the defensive leader of a BYU team that led the nation in red zone defense (opponent red zone percentage of.62), was second in rushing defense (84.25 yards/game), third in 3rd down conversion percentage (27.71%), fourth in 1st down defense (14.83/game), and fifth in scoring defense (176 total points). Additionally, they were in the top 25 in passing defense (13th), sacks (22nd), 4th down conversion defense (23rd), and tackles for loss (25th).

In 13 games played, he recorded 53 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss, 13.0 sacks, 2 interceptions (one for a touchdown), 6 forced fumbles with 1 fumble recovered (for a touchdown), 8 quarterback hurries, 5 pass break-ups, and 2 blocked kicks. Van Noy dominated in BYU's 23–6 victory over San Diego State in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl, where he recorded 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery (for a touchdown), 1 interception (for a touchdown), and a blocked punt.

Van Noy was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award and Chuck Bednarik Award Watch Lists, was National Linebacker of Week 3, and was third team All-American.

Van Noy was projected as a first or second round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, but opted to remain at BYU for his senior season.

Senior season

As a senior in 2013, Van Noy was named to the watch lists for the Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Walter Camp, Chuck Bednarik Award, and the Lott Trophy. He was a Phil Steele, USA Today, and Sports Illustrated Preseason All-American and finished the season All-America to Walter Camp Second-team, Athlon Sports Third-team, CBSSports.com Third-team and Sport and SI.com Honorable Mention. He was also named to the All-Independent first-team and was the All-Independent Defensive Player of the Year. In his final collegiate season, he recorded 70 total tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, 4.0 sacks, two interceptions, six passes defended, and two fumble recoveries.

Personal life

While attending Brigham Young University, Van Noy was roommates with and a mentor to Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah, who walked on to the BYU football team in 2010 as a statistics major from Ghana with no prior football experience. Van Noy taught Ansah fundamentals including tackling technique and training regimen. The two were later reunited as teammates on the Detroit Lions when Ansah was selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. Van Noy was also close friends with former BYU basketball player Brandon Davies.

Van Noy proposed to Marissa Powell, the former Miss Utah USA winner and third runner-up in the 2013 Miss USA pageant, in December 2013. They were married in June 2014. Van Noy has said that on one of their early dates, when he told Powell he was adopted, she responded that her father and brother were also adopted. Both are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The couple have a son Trae Legend, and a daughter Giavanna Monnae. Van Noy is an avid golfer and founded Chirpin Golf, a golf apparel company.

Philanthropy

In 2014, Van Noy and his wife Marissa co-founded the Van Noy Valor Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to “encourage personal valor in the lives of adopted children, those in foster care, and disadvantaged youth by armoring them with success.” Both Van Noy and Powell have personal connections to adoption; Van Noy was adopted as an infant, and Powell’s father and brother were also adopted.

The foundation’s signature annual event, “A Very Van Noy Christmas,” provides foster families with Christmas trees, holiday meals, and gifts. The event has been held in both Utah and Baltimore. Van Noy has also worked with adoption organizations during his playing career, including visiting with children from Adoption Rhode Island during his time with the New England Patriots.

Van Noy has spoken publicly about using his platform to reduce the stigma around adoption and foster care. In a 2020 interview with the Miami Dolphins’ website, he said: “People would throw shade like ‘oh, you’re adopted,’ almost like it’s a bad thing. These kids in foster care didn’t sign up for it. … I’m just trying to bring a positive light and a positive energy to it.” He was named a finalist for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, voted on by NFL players, in both 2024 and 2025.

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