He played college football at Brigham Young University and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft.

Nua moved to the Hawaiian island of Oahu to live with an aunt for six months while recovering from his knee injury.

[3] Nua redshirted in 2003 before returning in the 2004 season and earning second-team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior.

He ultimately appeared in 22 games, posting 54 tackles (30 solo, 24 assist) and 10 sacks in his career at BYU.

[8] Following his stint in the NFL, Nua returned to his alma mater as a defensive graduate assistant on the staff of BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall from 2009 to 2011.