Utah defensive tackles coach Sione Po'uha has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal this season. With a pair of returning starters that made All-Pac-12 teams a season ago and a trio of backups that are good enough to start at most other Pac-12 programs, Utah’s defensive tackles are a strength of the team.

With so much experience and talent returning, a major focus of the spring was helping his players make the leap to the next level of their development.

“We saw good competition [with the defensive tackles] this spring,” said Po'uha. “We’ve had starters that have been contributing since the time they were sophomores and juniors like Leki [Fotu] and John [Penisini]. They’ve earned their stripes, have played in big games and knew how to battle. So we approached it looking at how can you add value to what they already have? How can you add to their football IQ? How can you make the game easier and elevate their level of play in every aspect? We wanted to focus on the mental part of the game, the preparation part of game. Last year, they had coach Andersen. He’s a great coach, but coming into the spring we wanted to add value in different aspects technique wise, as well as mentality, and football IQ. That was a goal of mine in the spring. And we all got a little better.”

With so much talent on the roster, expectations in the media and amongst the fan base is as high as it’s ever been for a group of Utah defensive tackles. Po'uha recognizes the expectations and uses them to push his group to even greater success.

“Expectations are always high. At Utah football, the standards are always high. The standard has always been here since Coach Whittingham has been here. And Coach Scalley demands that out of the defense,” he explained. “Whether you’re a freshman or in your senior season, the expectation is the same. We want relentless, smart, ballhawks. So a big part of what we do is helping these guys adapt when they come in and understand what the culture is. Because eventually they become it. You see it with those guys. They become the culture. We just help them with the process. Once you trust the process you become a product of the process. Preparation is huge for us. Tomorrow's success depends on today's preparation. And that’s how they approach every day in this program.”

In addition to Po'uha bringing his experience to the program, another big offseason addition was adding former Ute and longtime NFL defensive tackle Paul Soliai to the coaching staff to help develop talent on the field.

“Coach Soliai brings another set of eyes. He’s gone through the whole process. We both have worn the drum and feather before. We understand the grind,” Pouha said. “At the same time, this program is all about the players. It's about us as coaches understanding them and using our experiences to help them. The situation reminds me a bit of 2015 when Coach Pease let me coach the defensive line [as a grad assistant] as well. He brings an extra set of eyes and expertise to add value and that’s a huge deal for us.”

As the season approaches, all eyes will be on seniors Leki Fotu and John Penisini. Both have seen success on the college level. Both have realistic NFL aspirations. And both have the potential to improve upon strong junior campaigns.

“These guys are pretty good. They can be as good as we expect them to be when they put the preparation in. They can be as good as anyone else when they earn it. They’re zoned in right now and taking care of what they can do today. Like I said, one of our main mantras is tomorrow’s success is dependent on today’s preparation. They’ve come in with that expectation, that attitude and that mindset every day this summer. It’s exciting to see how these guys prepare. That’s where the real magic happens. I’m super excited for them,” he said.

The depth at the position not only allows Utah to keep legs fresh throughout the course of a game (or season) due to the deep in-game rotation, it also allows faster development of personnel because of the fierce competition for reps.

“Iron sharpens iron. It’s something we've always had at Utah. We’ve been blessed with a surplus of defensive linemen. Back when I played, me and Steve Fifita were the starters and we had Paul Soliai and Kelly Talavou behind us,” he said. “As much as we think of individuals in the D tackle room, all five work in a cohesive way. Everybody elevates everyone else’s play. When I go into that room, everyone takes care of their business and complements the room together. They handle their business. It’s awesome to see how they all complement each other.”

The depth allows Utah to play an attacking style of defense that has been one of the more stout attacks - especially against the run - in all of college football for the better part of a decade.

“In terms of D line play, we try to really disrupt what the offense is trying to do. You’ve got to be big. You’ve got to be physical and relentless. They’ve gotta be nasty ballhawks, which is our mantra. We look for those traits and cultivate that culture on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Scalley cultivates it and our guys become it. You can see those traits and that culture portrayed by those guys. Everybody on this defense plays like that. The whole defense echos that mantra of being relentless, smart, and nasty ballhawks. Try to portray that as coaches and the players become that culture,” he said.

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