"Louie is a team guy. As well as he's done individually, all he's really concerned about is the success of the team," Whittingham said.

"He's the kind of guy you want on your football team. Those guys that have that attitude. He epitomizes that."

When asked about his goals this season, Sakoda reeled off a couple of things. "Annihilating" BYU topped the list. Silencing the large season-opening crowd in Michigan was also mentioned.

So, too, was an even bigger prize.

"Being able to play a bowl game in January would be nice," said Sakoda, who believes the Utes are ready to do something big this season. "I'll do my part, but that definitely comes second to our team goals."

Utah's opportunity for success, however, is greatly enhanced by Sakoda's skills. Johnson admits it can alter the mindset of the offense knowing what you can do to put points on the board.

"We use Louie as a crutch sometimes, you get inside the 40 and you've got three points. It can kind of change the way you think as a quarterback — make you not force the ball downfield on third-and-long into a bad play," Johnson said. "Just take the short pass and get Louie a couple of extra yards, and he'll knock it through."

As a kicker, though, Sakoda feels the constant need to continually get better and fight to earn the respect of his teammates.

Even with a bevy of honors coming his way, Sakoda takes his accomplishments with a grain of salt. He's far from satisfied.

However, since his career success has exceeded his own expectations to a degree, Sakoda admits he's trying to join things to an extent — awards included.

"I can definitely appreciate them. Being able to stay modest; being able to stay grounded; and stay focused on what you have to do is half the battle," Sakoda said. "It's definitely cool that I can show friends from back home (in San Jose, Calif.), family and all that stuff; hey, look what I've been able to do over here. It's definitely going to be something that will be cool to look back on."

Until then ...

"It's not over yet," Sakoda said. "I've still got more to accomplish."

Louie Sakoda

Utah punter/kicker

Senior (5-9, 178)

Hometown: San Jose, Calif.

ACCOLADES:• 2007 First-team All-America punter (Football Writers Association of America, CBSSports.com)• 2007 First-team All-America place kicker (Rivals.com)• 2007 Second-team All-America punter (SI.com)• Ray Guy and Lou Groza award candidate• 2006 and 2007 Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Year• Seven-time MWC Special Teams Player of the Week• 2006 Armed Forces Bowl MVP• Utah career field-goal percentage leader (83 percent)• 17 career punts downed inside the 5-yard line• Ranks first among active dual punter/kickers in career punts and punt yards• Three-time academic all-conference honoree (3.7 cumulative GPA in business)• Utah Student Athlete Advisory Committee member

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com