BYU football: So'oto OK with third position in three years

Provo » When BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi was recruiting Vic So'oto, then a tight end, Kaufusi often teased the highly regarded prospect from Carlsbad, Calif., that he would some day be playing defensive end for the Cougars.

"He would say, 'yeah, right coach. I'm a tight end and will always be a tight end,' " Kaufusi recalled.

What Kaufusi didn't foresee was that So'oto would try his hand at another position -- linebacker -- before making the prophecy come true.

So'oto, who is either a junior or a senior (more on that later), will play his third position in three years when the Cougars take on Oklahoma on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas, having made the switch

to defensive end just weeks before fall camp began.

"It is going well," he said. "It is probably the hardest position I have learned, though. Definitely harder than tight end. Every play is a battle. You use every muscle in your body to make a play, and you get a different kind of tired than from playing tight end or linebacker. At the end of the day, your whole body is just fatigued. Everything hurts."

So'oto is "a natural" at the position, coach Bronco Mendenhall said, and has quickly risen to No. 2 on the depth chart. He and fellow linebacker-turned-defensive end Matt Putnam will back up the two experienced seniors, Jan Jorgensen and Brett Denney.

"I think of all the spots that Vic has played, this is where he

is the most natural and where he fits the best," Mendenhall said. "He has great emotion and he is a physical presence."

The coach said when he makes position changes such as the one with So'oto, he knows by the end of the first drill or first live work whether he made the right decision or not.

"And that's what happened here," he said. "He is in the right spot, and I think he is excited about it."

Kaufusi said So'oto will be rotated in to spell Jorgensen and Denney, but that he is aligning himself well to be a starter next year -- if there is a next year. Having suffered a season-ending broken his foot in the second game of last season (against Washington), So'oto is hoping the NCAA grants him a medical hardship and gives him the year back.

He used up his redshirt season in 2006 after suffering a season-ending injury two games into that season. The Mountain West Conference has given its OK; now he's just waiting to apply to the NCAA when the season is over.

"I definitely want to come back," he said. "I would love to play another year."

Mendenhall said BYU's compliance officials have said they are confident the NCAA will grant the extra year.

"I will be surprised if it doesn't go through for him," Mendenhall said.

So'oto said he made the switch to defensive end after Mendenhall approached him during the summer with the idea. He immediately put together a plan to add pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame, and is now at 265, he said.

"There are a lot of 3-4 defenses in the NFL, so hopefully this will turn out for the best," he said.

Kaufusi said So'oto will do well at the position because he has the aggression, athleticism and quicks necessary to handle it.

"Because he has never played there, we have to work on the mental things -- how to use his hands, his footwork, where to line up," Kaufusi said. "He has those attributes that you look for. He has just got to get a lot of repetitions and it will come."

drew@sltrib.com