This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Just tell us some stories, why dontcha?"
The Tribune is running a Sunday story on Utah's history of strong defensive lines, and while there's plenty of info packed in there, print editions afford us only so much room.
Luckily, on our blog, we have acres of real estate for the quotes and stories that were left on the cutting room floor. I talked to a number of former and current Utes to figure out what makes the defensive line tick. Here's some things that didn't make the story, but hopefully add depth and flavor for Utes fans out there. I think you'll agree, there's some pretty fun personalities who have played D-line over the years:
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On Utah's recruiting
John Pease (player 63-64, coach 09-10): "They recruit good kids, and good kids recruit more good kids. Utah really caters to defensive players, especially defensive linemen. It's like USC had a run of tailbacks, Miami had a run of quarterbacks. When you have a position group that plays well, it's really a self-sustaining machine. They just breed more good players. These kids kind of expect to do well. When they come to Utah, they think, 'OK, I'm part of a tradition, I've got to keep it up.'"
Luther Elliss (player 91-94): "They want big guys who can move, who can stop the run, who have good hands. It was a huge emphasis when I played, and it just kind of evolved from there."
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On the Polynesian connection
Jason Kaufusi (player 00-03): "It goes back to Ron McBride, the recruiting process and finding diamonds in the rough. Coach Mac, his staff, they were recruiting to Polynesian kids, and on top of the influence they had in the islands, they could get some of the kids living in the valley in those days. There was a point where they got four or five guys, snagged them from BYU, and the momentum really seemed to change, it really switched the tide as far as pulling kids from the islands. Guys like Ma'ake Kemoeatu, they helped make Utah a D-line factory."
Trevor Reilly (player, 10-13): "It starts with recruiting, and I think it helps that Salt Lake is kind of a home base for Polynesians in the Western United States. Once they got some of those guys, they really started putting guys in the NFL."
Pease: "For whatever reason, those guys are born thick and strong. They're pretty easy to coach. I never had a lick of problems with them."
Elliss: "Getting elected [to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame] was amazing to me, it blew me away. I think to see the list, it's quite an amazing group. It's pretty powerful to know that we're such a small population, but then to see the impact we've had on football is pretty amazing."
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On Luther Elliss' influence
Pease: "You gotta go back to Luther. Here's a story about Luther Elliss: When he was coming into the NFL, I was coaching in the league, and he was at the scouting combine, doing the bench press. Luther was just going, 'One, two, three ...' not breaking a sweat, and final he got to 33, looked at the coaches and said, 'How many more do you want me to do?' He was just so strong."
Kyle Whittingham (coach 94-present): "I wish I could take credit for recruiting Luther. He was here when I got here. He was already a great player."
Nate Orchard (player, 11-present): "Luther comes by all the time. We have a chance to sit down with him and talk with him on what to work on, what to expect. He's a guy we all look up to."
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On the attitude of the line
Christian Cox (player, 07-10): "[Ilaisa Tuiaki] has got players who will sell out. We're the toughest group, we lay it out on the line for everybody. We're a bunch of roosters, we set the tone."
Steve Fifita (player, 02-05) : "You've got to have a chip on your shoulder, have an edge. You want to want to line up against the best. You want to line up against people that you feel like are going to be a great match-up."
Elliss: "The culture has been set. They play hard-nosed smart football. You just focus on the current play. Every time I played, my goal and the goal of our team is to make the other team quit, to make them want no more. You see that in this team now."
Orchard: "From us, you get the ID on the mentality. For a long time, it's heart of the defense, the anchor. Guys look to us for energy and to make the big plays."
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On how Utah's scheme helps the line
Whittingham: "That's the short version: We have block-eaters up front, guys who demand double teams and are stout against the run. The thing we look for as much as anything natural use of hands, we want guys who can shed blocks. Then on the edges explosiveness and get-off. Looking at Nate, Trevor, Koa [Misi], the common denominator is explosiveness."
Fifita: "I don't know if they've changed too much since I've been there. They've been pretty consistent. I don't know all of what they're running, but I know they ran a lot of the same stuff we did when I played. I mean, Kalani [Sitake] has been there for years, those players have been in the same system for a while. That's huge for a defensive lineman."
Reilly: "Especially in college, dominant defensive end really changes the game. He can take one side of the field away. It's not about just getting sacks, it's about getting the quarterback to throw the ball off the back foot, get picks, disrupt things. It's really a game changing position in that defense."
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Top game memories
Fifita: "The Fiesta Bowl is up there for me."
Cox: "The Sugar Bowl was amazing, but I didn't play because Koa Misi and Paul Kruger weren't coming off the field in that game. Thinking on my own career, beating BYU in 2010, when we blocked the field goal. Beating Pitt, beating Cal in the bowl game, those were productive games for the D-line. I'd also have to say when we beat Utah State in 2009. It was kind of a homecoming for Gary Andersen, and it was emotional for us since he had been our coach. We got some sacks in that game."
Kaufusi: "The biggest win, I think, was the USC game in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2001. We were the last team to beat USC before they just went on a rampage. The Mountain West had just started, and because of that, Utah being a Mountain West school, everybody looked down on us. It was fun to go against USC's tradition, a good, fun opportunity to play against a Pac-10 team and win."
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On the influence of D-line alumni
Lowell Lotulelei (player, present): "It puts a sense of pride in us as a group, those guys that come back around like Sta [his brother], in the league, they're doing their thing right now."
Jason Fanaika (player, 13-present): "They come back. Seeing those guys, train with us, do drills with us, it's awesome. For me, if I have a chance to, I'm going to come back and work with the guys."
Reilly: "Utah has put a lot of guys in the NFL for a 7-8 year window. And you see those guys have donated money to the facilities and the program. It's a special kind of athlete."
Elliss: "Those players really seem to appreciate what the former alumni have done, they like having former NFL guy come back and share his knowledge and experiences. I appreciate they wanted to hear what I share with them. It's not new information, really, but maybe it helps put things in a new light."
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On the current line
Pease: "I love Hunter Dimick. He's kind of a bigger, faster Christian Cox. You can really tell he studies and prepares. I think Nate has got real, real upside. Good athletic skills, pass rushing skills. He's probably most gifted."
Elliss: "I think there's multiple things they did in that UCLA game, but a lot of it was defensive line getting after [Brett Hundley] on the pass rush. Just the relentlessness of the way these guys played, you could tell they got back to it after losing the previous game."
Cox: "They've bought into the defense. They've bought into the D-line. They're opening up lanes, letting Jared Norris hit free. Nate has really matured as a D-end. He's finally living up to his amazing potential, he's not been up and down like in previous years. But for a pass rush to really work, you need to have two guys. Hunter Dimick really goes unnoticed. He just had two and a half sacks, and no one's talking about him. Kalani and Coach Tuiaki, have also done a great job. Whitt's the one who has given Kalani autonomy - he has let his defense be in Kalani's hands, which is tough to do for a former D-coordinator."
Orchard: "Lowell has been playing as a true freshman. It's amazing. You wouldn't think he's a freshman the way he's balling. Filipo [Mokofisi] has been putting on some weight, and just the way he's been playing, putting his weight up is going to benefit him. Hunter, I know he's going to take my role once I leave here. I think we'll see him playing at the next level."
Kyle Goonkgoon@sltrib.comTwitter: @kylegoon