Fifita is Utes' newest noseguard standout

Steve Fifita plans a career helping troubled people as a probation officer when his football-playing days are done years from now.

In a few weeks, Fifita will be helping people, too — helping offending linemen to the ground and drawing double teams to help his teammates secure the scrimmage line.

Fifita, just a sophomore and the starter since spring ball, is expected to be the latest in a rich heritage of University of Utah noseguards — shortest but perhaps strongest in a lineage that has sent the last three starters at that position to the NFL.

"I expect big things from him. He's going to be the prototypical noseguard that we need," said coordinator Kyle Whittingham, whose defense has been atop either the Mountain West or Western Athletic conferences for most of the past 10 years, in large part because of NFL-bound noseguards Pene Talamaivao (Buffalo, San Diego), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (Baltimore) and Lauvale Sape (Buffalo).

"He is the anchor of our defense," adds tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo. "If everything starts from the middle out, he's the most important guy."

"I'm ready for it, to be a starter," said Fifita, who played in 11 games, starting one, and made 16 tackles in relief of Sape. He had an interception, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup.

The previous three noseguards were taller (Kemoeatu at 6-foot-5, Talamaivao 6-4 and Sape 6-2) than the admitted 5-11 Fifita. But with a bench press of 400 and squat lift of 575 pounds in just his second year, he's already far ahead of Kemoeatu and Sape when they were seniors and perhaps even Talamaivao (425, 565 as a junior, didn't test as a senior due to injury).

Also an asset is that, "He's a very bright player, just his knowledge of the game," says Tuiasosopo. "He's smart in space, very smart spatially."

But not much of a talker, at least about himself. "I'm just a football player. I go to school when it's school-time. That's about it. I just work out and look forward to playing football," he said. He has gotten into studying game film to help his knowledge.

Fifita bows to defensive tackle Sione Pouha as strongest man on this team, but Tuiasosopo says of Fifita, "He's very strong. There's a natural leverage to him because of his height. He's hard to move around in there. You've got to be a tough, physical, athletic guy to play the nose. He's a very tough, nasty kid. He ain't going to back down from a fight."

Whittingham calls Fifita "a block eater. Strong as a bull. He's tough to block. He plays with great pad level."