Countdown to Kickoff: No. 50 Fua Pututau

We hit the half-century mark with today's countdown to kickoff at no. 50, Fua Pututau. Fua is one of four Pututau family members to sign with the Utes, suiting up with brothers Hauati and Taniela and cousin Tennessee. The sophomore lines up on the defensive line and has seen little action so far after redshirting in 2018, playing in one game in 2019, and not seeing action in 2020. In his one season of action, Fua made the Pac-12 All-Academic team.

Pututau served an LDS mission after signing with Utah in the 2016 recruiting class. Prior to that, Fua was a two-time honorable mention all-state and first-team all-region prospect out of Cottonwood High School. He also played some offense, compiling 74 all-purpose yards (48 rushing, 26 receiving) in 2015, and played basketball as a freshman.

Fua will face some stiff competition for playing time in 2021, as both Hauati and Tennessee are expected to be main contributors. That being said, the Utah staff will take full advantage of the defensive tackle depth with a deep rotation, if it makes sense.

UteNation take

After returning from his mission, there was some debate about if Pututau would follow his brother Hauati at defensive tackle or if he would continue at defensive end from high school. As a true freshman, he was around 270 pounds, then after a year in a college strength and conditioning program, he found a home at 260 at defensive end. However, he is listed back up at 290, so he could potentially fill a Derrick Shelby-like role and become versatile enough to play anywhere on the line.

Not being listed on the two-deep in spring ball could be a blessing in disguise with plenty of motivation, as Fua needed time to improve his consistency at the defensive end and/or develop his skills at the tackle position. A good fall camp could earn him some snaps on defense, but he should at least be able to contribute on special teams.

Alex remembers Pututau’s recruitment

As a three-star defensive end out of Cottonwood HS, Pututau was rated the no. 38 weakside defensive end in he 2016 class. While he had five Pac-12 offers, his decision ultimately came down to three schools: Utah, BYU and Colorado. The decision was relatively easy for Fua, as he had the opportunity to play with his older brother, Hauati, at Utah. Their brother Taniela would follow in 2018, and their cousin Tennessee a year after that—in what is an immensely talented group of family members.