Arriving this year a starting senior, offensive lineman Isaac Asiata has transformed into a seasoned veteran through the Utah football program. A year older and wiser, Asiata feels he is in an much better place than he was last year at this time.
While Asiata has matured a lot since last season, this year he is dialed in to his assignments and following any advice the defensive coordinators might give him.
While working closely with freshman guard Darrin Paulo, Asiata has assumed a role as a leader in helping other, younger players. When Asiata was a freshman, he looked to the older athletes, now former Utes, like Jeremiah Tofaeono and Sam Brenner, to name a couple.
“I’m trying to do [for the younger players] what they did for me,” Asiata said. “They would be forced to sit in the back and watch the plays because I was about to run the same plays as them.”
Now that Asiata is the veteran, he tries to be open-minded and patient with the younger players, as he tries to be a teacher. He said that with preparation, it’s all about repetition, and tackling each game the same exact way.
On the road, the Utes will face Oregon this Saturday to open up conference play. Two years ago, Asiata made his first Pac-12 start against the Ducks, and in the past, he was enamored with the thrill of the game. Now he is more focused and sees it as a bigger contest: he wants to start off the first conference contest right.
“We prepare the same, if not better for this week,” Asiata said. “We are going to go out and do our job and try to come home with a W,” Asiata said.
From his experience at the U, Asiata has come to realize how tough this team really is year in and year out. That said, he feels this year’s team is especially tough.
“This team is grimy,” Asiata said. “They’re like pit bulls, man. If anyone falls and they come back, it’s 10 times harder.”
Utah’s defensive tackle Viliseni Fauonuku is one of the veterans on the team, with five years of experience as a Ute. He sees the entire picture of what head coach Kyle Whittingham and the coaching staff are trying to accomplish within the program.
Fauonuku has experienced all the ups and downs, and the one thing he has learned is to do what Whitttingham says — “respect the process.” He described the “process” as something that entails a lot of hard work in developing young football players into men.
“There’s a transformation within that 4-5 years that happens,” Fauonuku said. “It’s been unbelievable. I came in as a punk and thought I knew everything. The process will break you down and build you back up.”
When Fauonuku prepares for games, he relies on the lessons he has learned from the “process,” as well as the basic knowledge and fundamentals he has for the game to be ready for any game-time situation.
“When things get rough and you face adversity, just fall back on technique,” Fauonuku said. “It’s a part of the process. The process is the same thing every day. No matter what something throws at you, there’s a way to react to it. As soon as something comes at you, you attack it.”
Fauonuku has played Oregon four years in a row now, and his mind is set on taking home the win for his team this season, no matter what. Utah is off to a perfect 3-0 start, and Fauonuku hopes to keep that streak going when the Utes kick off in Eugene on Saturday.
“We’re on a mission right now,” Fauonuku said. “And I know for damn sure we aren’t going to let Oregon get in the way of that.”
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