Today's countdown to kickoff is no. 52, linebacker Mason Tufaga. Tafuga was a highly recruited prospect out of Honolulu, Hawaii, earning All-Hawaii team honorable mention as a junior in 2019. He was also a 2021 Polynesian Bowl invitee.

Tufaga is listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds on the roster and was listed on the two-deep this past spring behind Devin Lloyd at the Mac linebacker position.

The son of former Ute Wes Tufaga—who played linebacker at Utah from 1997-2000–Mason is one of six legacy Utes to sign in the 2021 class—including Michael Mokofisi who was committed and has yet to sign. Three of those legacy Utes are linebackers: Tufaga, Jonah Elliss and Ethan Calvert.

UteNation take

Tufaga should add immediate depth to a talented young linebacker group behind Lloyd and Nephi Sewell. Competition for the backup spot at inside linebacker will be intense, with Trey Reynolds and Calvert also signing, as well as Washington transfer Josh Calvert, all high-caliber players in their own right.

From the high school tape, Tufaga brings good athleticism at the position and does a good job of keeping his pad level low at the point of contact. Tufaga does an excellent job of having no false steps when reading the flow of the play and attacking his spot. It’s an intriguing characteristic of Tufaga's game, as he displays a lot of patience at the position. A great open-field tackler, Mason has great closing speed on outside zones, rallying to the flat on check-down routes, and taking away space when matched up on a running back.

The battle for the backup backer spots is about to get intense when fall camp rolls around.

Alex remembers Tufaga’s recruitment

Mason’s final three came down to Utah, Oregon, and Nebraska. He had offers from eight Pac-12 schools and one SEC program. While Utah’s competition for him came down to two quality schools, there never really was a question on whether the three-star no. 19 rated inside linebacker would be a Ute. It was more a matter of when, as he made the call in late August of 2020.