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He gets a lot of questions about his knee: Does it feel the same? Do you feel OK putting weight on it? Leaning on it?
What reassures Evan Moeai, he said, is he's never asking the questions of himself.
Since tearing his meniscus and fracturing his tibial plateau, Moeai took an arduous road to recovery, taking five months before he could even run again. But this spring, the senior tight end has definitely passed the eyeball test.
"If I didn't know about his injury, I would not even know he had an injury," tight ends coach Lewis Powell said. "He comes out quietly every day and he does his job."
A Provo native who came to the U. from Snow College, "quiet" was a good word for most of Moeai's Utes career. He was behind Jake Murphy, Westlee Tonga and Siale Fakailoatonga for the last two seasons, and his injury — which happened on his first play in the season-opener against Idaho State — seemed like it could relegate him even further back in the pecking order.
But in spring he's made plays: sideline catches, one-on-one battles for high passes, a few touchdowns — like the one he caught from Travis Wilson on Tuesday's practice in full pads.
The activity is getting noticed: Moeai is the No. 1 tight end on the depth chart this week. But he said he's not worried about where he falls there.
"It's nice to see that hard work is paying off," he said. "But I'm going to treat it like any other week and keep doing what I've been doing."
Moeai took whatever positives he could out of his injury. He took his diet more seriously. He worked out a little harder. He spent his sidelined hours studying the play of Tonga, including his routes and technique.
That has paid off in the eyes of Powell, who said though Fakailoatonga has more upside and is better as a run blocker, Moeai has "a little more wiggle" to his game and a better understanding of the passing offense. The coaching staff hopes their strengths end up rubbing off on each other and they both can contribute this season.
There's a chance Utah can get an extra year of eligibility for Moeai, but for the time being, this spring is his chance to carve out a meaningful role. While the Utes would love to have their wideout corps healthy, Moeai realizes that with some playmakers missing time, he has a golden opportunity.
"Anytime someone goes down, we gotta pick up the rifle and keep going," he said. "I think that does open up some opportunities for us tight ends and the younger receivers as well. I think for the most part we've been doing a good job."
Porter back in the fold • To a degree, Reginald Porter's season-ending knee injury midway through fall camp was not unlike last Friday's injury to redshirt sophomore running back Troy McCormick, in that it came so soon after he appeared to have won a significant role on the team.
Porter was "on the brink of being, I think, outstanding," cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah then told The Tribune.
Porter is now back at it — a brace on his knee, a little sore and sometimes stiff, but happy to "start over," he said.
He admits: "It was a tough period, because I had put so much work in for that season."
Despite the loss of seniors Eric Rowe and Davion Orphey, corner has the potential to be a strong suit for the Utes if Porter can return to the form he showed last fall.
His injury called for Dominique Hatfield to switch from wideout to corner, where Hatfield was second on the team with 10 pass deflections and ninth in tackles.
Junior Justin Thomas is back at nickel after a solid 2014 campaign, and South Carolina transfer Ahmad Christian is hopeful to rejoin practice for fall camp after suffering an Achilles injury during offseason conditioning. Safety convert Brian Allen has also shown promise this spring, Porter said.
Porter's expertise — his booming collision with Kenric Young last Friday notwithstanding — is coverage. Orphey told The Tribune last year that he had the best footwork on the team, and that even the seniors would pick the then-sophomore's brain from time-to-time.
"I give [teammates] pointers when they ask, especially in one-on-ones, when I'm not going, I'll watch them and tell them, like, 'Your eyes aren't good,' or 'You've got to get your feet better,'" he said. "I help them out, and they help me out, too, when I'm not doing good."
Cox re-injures foot • Quarterback Brandon Cox did not participate in Tuesday's practice because of an injury to his foot, Whittingham said.
The extent of the injury is not known, but the injury is to the same foot that Cox had surgically repaired during a truncated season at Pasadena High.
"We're hoping for the best, but right now, we don't know a whole lot going forward about how long it's going to take to get him back out here," Whittingham said.
Cox and fellow redshirt sophomore Conner Manning had been rated slightly behind redshirt freshman Chase Hansen in the battle for the No. 2 spot in spring — absent Kendal Thompson, who is rehabilitating an ACL tear he sustained last year against Oregon.
During live work last Friday, Hansen and Manning received the bulk of the reps.
Backers are back • After Tuesday's practice, Jared Norris came off the field weary, but in good spirits all the same.
When you've been as beat up as the Utah linebackers have been over the last year, any day when they can get on the field is a good day.
"For the most part everybody's not too banged up," he said "Maybe a little tired, pretty much all of us are on special teams, but that's what you gotta do when you play linebacker.
Norris was among the linebackers who was making plays Tuesday, getting a hand on a Chase Hansen pass and hauling it in for a tough pick. The senior laughed as he recalled his fake to his opposing side before putting out a mitt on the ball.
"I didn't even think it was gonna happen, I just kind of put my arm out and dove, came up with it," he said. "I played two plays at tight end in high school, and one of them I think was a 75-yard touchdown, and that was it. I always tell the coaches, 'Put me in the slot. I can be a good slot guy.'"
But Uaea Masina, who missed all of last season with a hand injury, and Jason Whittingham, who missed most of last season with a broken wrist, also made their presence felt. Whittingham also nearly came up with a pick.
Sunia Tauteoli was also playing for the third straight practice, and if Gionni Paul returns in the next week, one of Utah's thinner units last fall might actually be all on the field.
"Really we're all interchangeable, and we've gotta have some of the best depth in the Pac-12," Norris said. "The guys who were hurt are still getting used to the speed and all that, but little tweaks here and there is all it is."
Twitter: @kylegoon
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