This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There is at least one person in this world who can swiftly overpower Utah defensive end Hunter Dimick: His mom, Wendy.
When Hunter signed with Utah in 2012, he had a long-standing trip to Spain that summer that would conflict with some of his first weight training workouts. He told Utes coach Kyle Whittingham he didn't want to travel abroad to one of the most picturesque countries in the world — he'd rather be in a weight room that, at the time, was under construction.
"You ended up going, right?" Whittingham asked Monday, in the midst of a press conference four years later.
"Yeah," Dimick said. "My mom made me."
Stories about Dimick have been trickling out this week about how he's an obsessively healthy eater, or how he jokes with fellow end Pita Taumoepenu on every down that they'll "meet in the back." Some Utah fans may be getting to know him for the first time ahead of his last game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday.
The 23-year-old, 6-foot-3, 272-pound lineman has spent his career being the wingman to Nate Orchard, Kylie Fitts and Lowell Lotulelei, among others. But after resetting the program's single-game sack record against Arizona State and one sack from being the sole holder of the program's all-time record (he is now tied with John Frank at 27), Dimick is the spotlight performer of Utah's defense — a spot he probably always deserved.
"I'm not talking down or disrespecting anybody who played in the past, but I feel like Hunter has always taken a backseat to someone else," senior lineman Isaac Asiata said. "Even before season, people said they didn't think Hunter was going to have as a good a season as he's having now. But if they knew how hard he actually works, they wouldn't be surprised."
Within the team, Dimick has long been a leader. He's a captain this year, and throughout his career he's been cited as one of the best examples of Utah's blue-collar mentality — a small-town Syracuse boy who made good with the hometown team.
Outside of the program, he's been passed over. Despite finishing with 10 sacks and ranking fourth in the Pac-12 in tackles for a loss in 2014, he only made the league's honorable mention group, outshined by Orchard's 18.5 sacks. This year, preseason all-conference and All-American lists favored teammates Lotulelei and Fitts, seemingly forgetting about Dimick after an injury-plagued 2015.
Here's how that has worked out: This week, Dimick is tied in the national lead with 12 sacks (with one fewer game than fellow leader Jaylon Ferguson of Louisiana Tech). He has a team-leading 17.5 tackles for a loss. Pro Football Focus College graded him with 64 quarterback pressures this year, the most of any Power 5 defensive end this season.
Former defensive coordinator John Pease said Dimick, stocky and sometimes stiff, doesn't have the obvious look of a "thoroughbred" athlete. But he has gifts: He has strong, powerful hands that shed blocks, and he has quickness that catches blockers off guard. And his intangibles — an unbeatable work ethic, a vast knowledge of scheme and a quiet, fierce competitiveness — are off the charts.
"His intelligence, his strength, his quickness — he's got a great combination," Pease said. "It's amazing because as a coach, you never worry about him. You can count on him to be doing his job, you almost forget about him. When there's a tackle for a loss or a QB pressure, you ask, 'Who was that? Oh, there's Hunter again.' "
Dimick's reliability was almost a detriment when the Utes had to play without him for most of last season. Expected to build on a strong sophomore year, Dimick suffered a shoulder injury that robbed him of his ability to shed blockers. He tried coming back repeatedly, Pease said, but a strain or a sprain always put him at square one.
Whittingham said he probably bothered Dimick as much as anyone: "When are you going to be back?" was a constant refrain.
Dimick wanted to be back, too.
"You go from getting a lot of love from a lot of people to, 'Who are you?' essentially," he said. "When you're not out there on the field producing, people forget. But at the same time, you can't be mad about it when it happens."
Try telling Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins that Dimick isn't "mad."
Teammates say since his return to health, Dimick has been playing like a man intent on "punishing" opponents, as if he's making up for missed time. Taumoepenu and Dimick, bookends on the line and travel roommates, have a friendly wager every game on who can have more sacks.
Taumoepenu had a career game in his own right against Arizona State, finishing with three sacks. Dimick beat him by two.
"It's awesome, he's a great guy and he deserves it," Taumoepenu said. "He played the same way he used to play. Man, he's Hunter Dimick."
As he wraps up his senior season, his name and reputation might mean more than ever before. Once considered a fringe NFL prospect, his name has been rising up draft boards, and Pease, a longtime NFL coach, thinks he'll get a shot on an NFL team next year. It seems like a matter of time before he wraps up either Oregon's Justin Herbert or Colorado's Sefo Liufau for his name to stand alone at the top of one of Utah's most hallowed records.
"It's exciting, that's something you strive for, I guess, trying to be on top, I guess," he said of the record. "I'm a pretty level-headed guy, I don't get too high up on myself. ... [Coaches] gave me congratulations, we kind of laughed it off, and said, 'OK, practice on Monday.' "
Dimick said that won't change his approach. He'll keep setting his meetings with Taumoepenu: Just meet in the back.
Twitter:@kylegoon —
Rewriting record book
Where Hunter Dimick stands in Utah's record books ahead of his final game at Rice-Eccles Stadium:
Single-game sacks • 5, 1st*
Single-game sack yardage • 37 yards, 1st*
Single-game TFL • 6.5, 1st*
Single-game TFL yardage • 43 yards, 1st*
Career sacks • 27, tied for 1st
Career sack yardage • 141 yards, 5th
Career TFL • 41.5, 2nd
Career TFL yardage • 173 yards, 6th
*Nov. 10 vs. Arizona State Oregon at No. 11 Utah
P Saturday, noon
TV • Pac-12 Network