This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Los Angeles
As the NFL playoffs begin next weekend, the University of Utah will be hoping to extend a nice run of prominent alumni playing in the Super Bowl.
The Rose Bowl is another subject. Having one of their former players perform for USC in the Pac-12's showcase football game Monday vs. Penn State is not exactly what the Utes had in mind when they were welcomed into the conference with gifts of roses six years ago.
Owning a Utah degree, defensive lineman Stevie Tu'ikolovatu joined the Trojans last summer as a graduate transfer and became a big part of their run to the Rose Bowl as a consistent player and team leader. "Stevie is one of the best blessings we could have asked for," said Zach Banner, USC's All-American offensive tackle.
This story should celebrate how Tu'ikolovatu went from East High School to the Rose Bowl. Mix in how he basically lived in his vehicle for six weeks in the Los Angeles area last summer while working out with the Trojans and waiting to enroll at USC and receive benefits, and it gets even better.
"In the summer, it didn't feel like it was worth it," he said during the Rose Bowl Media Day. "But it paid off."
If the Rose Bowl is rewarding for him, though, it is a cause of some resentment in his hometown.
"For the record, I'm excited for Stevie, if anybody asks me that," Ute offensive lineman Isaac Asiata said in early December, when the bowl pairings were announced. "I hope he goes and takes it to those guys in the Rose Bowl."
That may not be the universal outlook in Salt Lake City. Ute fans would rather not have their program serve as a farm system for USC, their Pac-12 South rival, or have Tu'ikolovatu try to persuade Bingham star Jay Tufele to follow him in Los Angeles. That's understandable.
Viewed properly, the success of Tu'ikolovatu is a compliment to the Utes. I mean, who would have imagined USC ever needing a guy who couldn't become a full-time starter for Utah, at any position? He proved that an average Ute defensive lineman is good enough to go somewhere else in the interest of playing time and make the All-Pac-12 second team. As he said, "Utah has a ton of good linemen."
It's just that he's in the Rose Bowl and the Utes are not, and USC will get credit for sending him to the NFL.
"I knew what I was capable of doing, and I wanted to go to a place where — how could I say it? — they really recognized my talents and knew what I could do," Tu'ikolovatu said.
USC's eight-game winning streak and rise to the top 10 of the College Football Playoff standings started right after a 31-27 loss to Utah in September. See if this makes any sense: Utah rallied with three touchdown drives in the second half, directed by co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. The Utes converted two fourth-and-1 plays in the winning sequence, with Armand Shyne and Zack Moss running into the heart of USC's defense and Tu'ikolovatu and his teammates unable to stop them.
And then Friday, when Utah announced the firing of Roderick, Tu'ikolovatu was speaking during the Rose Bowl Media Day, marveling about the last six months of his life.
He's a lifelong Utahn and a temporary Trojan, but USC got him to the Rose Bowl. He has made an impact with 45 tackles this season — including nine in a losing effort at Utah, where he competed against former teammates J.J. Dielman and Asiata. "I was comfortable," he said. "It was home, and it felt like practice."
Tu'ikolovatu has blended in well at USC, where he's pursuing a master's degree in gerontology. While he has studied the care of the elderly, the Trojans have observed their 25-year-old teammate's habits. He watches film for "hours and hours, more than anybody else," said Porter Gustin, a sophomore defensive end from Salem Hills. "He does those little things that veterans know how to do."
So he obviously learned well at Utah, even if he was just another member of a defensive line group that produced five players who received All-Pac-12 recognition in 2016. That's six guys, counting Tu'ikolovatu — if the Utes choose to include him as an alumnus.
Twitter: @tribkurt