The most frustrating part of going down with an ACL injury last preseason for Utes tight end Siale Fakailoatonga was that he’d felt like things finally clicked.
Instead, Fakailoatonga redshirted the entire 2016 season as he recovered. Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 257-pound senior and former Cottonwood High standout practiced for the second time this preseason. He came into camp listed atop the depth chart at tight end with Harrison Handley.
“Before I got hurt, I was almost at my best performance-wise and with football,” Fakailoatonga said. “I was beginning to understand everything a lot more. I was beginning to execute all my plays perfectly, then I got hurt. A lot of my motivation [while rehabbing] was wanting to get back to where I was.”
Fakailoatonga’s immediate focus is on getting back into football shape and sharpening up his reactions. He’s starting to get a feel for the new offense installed by first-year offensive coordinator Troy Taylor during the spring while Fakailoatonga was still out.
“I just remember sitting in the offensive meeting room trying to learn these plays, and I realized how hard it was to learn just seeing it written down compared to actually being out here and running the plays,” Fakailoatonga said.
Fakailoatonga has noticed that the tight ends will have to adjust to sharing a lot more of their opportunities in the passing game with wide receivers. However, he added that he’s excited about the increased emphasis on passing, and the tight ends are looking to make their reps count as opposed to counting their reps.
“Harrison Handley and Siale, they’re getting their feet wet a little bit,” Taylor said. “They didn’t have the whole benefit of the spring of being able to run the system, but they’ve hung in there pretty well in terms of learning it. When you’re coming off an injury, you’ve just got to get your legs underneath [you] until comfortable.”
“I see them fitting in perfectly,” Utes senior quarterback Troy Williams said. “All our tight ends are athletic guys, can run, physical, can block, do whatever we need them to do. It’s like a mis match out there when it’s a safety coming down or whether it’s a nickel [back], whatever it may be, it’s a mis match. We love those guys.”
Lining up
Utes coach Kyle Whittingham and Taylor seem to be in agreement that the top five offensive linemen coming into camp — Jackson Barton, Darrin Paulo, Lo Falemaka, Jordan Agasiva and Salesi Uhatafe — have solidified their spots, while another three have thus far proven themselves ready to contribute. Whittingham declined to identify the second group of three.
Barton, a Brighton High product and Salt Lake City resident, seems to have grabbed a stranglehold on the left tackle spot early in camp.
“He played his best football as a Ute during spring and has picked up right where he left off,” Whittingham said. “He’s a fixture at left tackle right now.”
Whittingham said signs point to Uhatafe, a three-year starter at right guard, being slotted in at right tackle despite him flopping back and forth at right guard during practices. Agasiva, a junior college transfer, has also played both in practice according to Whittingham.
An explosion is coming
Despite an influx of newcomers at both defensive back and wide receiver, it doesn’t appear the Utes will be looking to break in many new faces in the kick return game —with one possible exception.
Whittingham considers junior college transfer Derrick Vickers a potential playmaker as a return man. Vickers, a wide receiver, and junior college defensive back Tareke Lewis are both still working to become academically eligible. The hope is they’ll be able to join the team within the next two weeks.
“He’s a guy that’s explosive in the return game, but he’s not here yet.” Whittingham said of Vickers. “So of the new guys, I don’t know if there’s anybody that’s going to unseat the guys that we’ve got coming back, but Vickers could be that guy if he gets himself eligible.”
Trying it out
Senior Kenric Young has been trying his luck at cornerback after having spent his first three seasons as a wide receiver and contributing on special teams. The 6-foot-1, 189-pound native of Gainesville, Fla., spent two days with the defensive backs on what Whittingham called an “experimental” basis. Young will remain with the defensive backs through this week before a decision is made on whether he’ll move permanently.
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