Kragthorpe: Utah offensive lineman Salesi Uhatafe understands life and loss, and the value of teammates

One last time at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Utah offensive lineman Salesi Uhatafe will crouch in the middle of the warmup formation and lead the Utes through a lively chant before Saturday’s Senior Day game vs. Colorado.

His teammates have surrounded him for five seasons, ever since he lived through the deaths of two family members and a high school friend who would have played with him in college. Uhatafe already experienced one emotional Senior Day, when the school honored Gaius Vaenuku’s parents last November, and here comes another — his final home appearance with the Utes, who need a victory to qualify for a bowl game.

As a co-captain, Uhatafe (known by his nickname of “Leka”) is a centerpiece of an eclectic senior class. The group of 22 players includes receiver Darren Carrington II, whose touchdown catch for Oregon beat the Utes on Senior Day 2016; quarterback Cooper Bateman, who likely will never take a snap for Utah after transferring from Alabama; former starting QB Troy Williams; and stars such as defensive lineman Lowell Lotulelei and linebacker Kavika Luafatasaga.

Uhatafe is an NFL prospect, having developed into a Ute mainstay after a rough beginning of his college career. On his way home home to Texas during a break between summer conditioning and preseason practice, Uhatafe fell asleep while driving in northeastern New Mexico in July 2013. In addition to Vaenuku, his Trinity High School teammate, the accident killed Uhatafe’s 13-year-old brother, Andrew, and his stepbrother, Texas A&M defensive lineman Polo Manukainiu. His father, Salesi Uhatafe Sr., survived.

That’s a lot for an 18-year-old person to process.

“Leka has overcome a lot of emotional strife,” said Ute coach Kyle Whittingham. “And I hate to even talk about it, it was so devastating. But he showed his resiliency and his toughness and was able to come to terms with it and end up having an outstanding career. He’s got his degree. [I’m] just so proud of what’s he done and how he was able to persevere and it’s a great success story, it really is.”

From star players to scout team members, the Utes welcomed back Uhatafe when he returned to the campus in mid-August. “Oh, the whole team,” he said. “Even though I was a newer guy and they didn’t know much about me, they embraced me as if I was one of their own. That’s one of the memories that I’ll never forget about this program.”

Uhatafe continued, “Guys that I probably said one or two words to that whole summer, they came up and paid their respects and just let me know they were there for me if I ever needed anything. That statement still holds true to this day.”

Those bonds became even more important that season as Uhatafe redshirted and the team memorialized Vaenuku. The Utes kept Vaenuku’s locker intact and wore No. 95 decals on their helmets. And last November, when Vaenuku would concluded his career, his parents were honored in the Senior Day presentation prior to Utah’s 30-28 loss to Oregon.

That was a devastating defeat, coming when Carrington caught a touchdown pass for the Ducks with two seconds remaining. Even so, Uhatafe could take some satisfaction in his own performance.

In honoring his friend, Uhatafe said, “That day was more about the reason why I was playing, and how I played personally.”

A team with strong leaders including Trevor Reilly and Jake Murphy supported Uhatafe four years ago. Ever since then, he has tried to do the same for his teammates. “He’s come to be one of the people that I really look up to, honestly, just because of the stuff he’s been through,” Lotulelei said. “The way he’s been able to get through all of that, despite everything, to be in the position where he’s at now, it’s just something that I look up to.”

The 2017 Utes are frustrated after six losses in the last seven games, including a one-point defeat at USC via a failed 2-point conversion attempt and Saturday’s crushing loss at Washington, where the Huskies scored 10 points in the last minute.

“Through it all, “ Uhatafe said, “we’ve done a great job of sticking together.”

The same is true of his own family. Ever since he rejoined the Utes in August 2013, Uhatafe was driven by one goal, to help his them heal – to “move forward,” he said, “and try to make them proud.”