Utah football: Rotating players keeping 'D' fresh

SALT LAKE CITY — Depth isn't an issue on Utah's defensive line. The Utes, in fact, are quite loaded up front. They're so stacked that 11 players weave through a rotation that wears down opposing offensive lines.

"I love it," said junior Sealver Siliga. "Once we start getting winded, the next batch comes in. The offensive line is getting tired and we're fresh every time."

Nobody has an ego, he added, and none of the players are counting the number of plays they get.

"The great thing about it is you just have guys that care about winning and not caring about who gets credit, who gets the sacks," said defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake. "When you have guys that are unselfish like that, you can do a lot of good things. It's a huge credit to the kind of kids we have."

Besides Siliga, Utah's other starters on the defensive line are Dave Kruger, Christian Cox and Junior Tui'one. The reserves in the defensive line mix include Neli A'asa, James Aiono, Latu Heimuli, Joe Kruger, Star Lotulelei, Trevor Reilly and Derrick Shelby.

The group has teamed for 63 tackles in three games, including 7.5 behind the line of scrimmage and five sacks.

"We've got a lot of bodies up front that are very capable," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "And through three games, we've got a lot of mileage out of all of them."

This year's depth, he noted, is greater than ever. Whittingham said the Utes usually have seven or eight defensive linemen in the rotation, not 11.

"You'd like to be bulked up at every position like that," he explained. "We've just had a good run of recruiting at that position."

So well, as a matter of fact, that Whittingham said there's not a lot of separation between No. 1 and No. 11.

"That's the positive. That's the biggest plus of all," he continued. "There's not much of a drop off at all."

Plus, there's youth. There are only three seniors (Tui'one, A'asa and Cox) in the rotation. The balance is composed of three juniors (Siliga, Aiono and Shelby), two sophomores (Dave Kruger and Lotulelei) and a trio of freshmen (Heimuli, Joe Kruger and Reilly).

"Normally a lot of these guys would be getting 60 plays a game, and now it's trimmed down to 25 or 30," Sitake said. "Now they take advantage of every rep they get and so I just appreciate their unselfish attitudes and how they are just team guys."

Siliga, a team captain, explained that the players have all bought into the concept.

"I think it's a great thing," he said.