It’s now 98 days until kickoff for the University of Utah and today UteNation focuses on no. 98 Viane Moala. Before we kick into that however, it’s worth noting that the school announced today that the newly renovated Rice-Eccles Stadium will be at full capacity for the football season—a cause for celebration among fans, players and coaches alike.
Going into the 2020 season, expectations were high for Moala after a surprise emergence in 2019. Unfortunately—like many others around college football during an uncertain year—Moala’s stats didn’t back up the initial hype. He had seven total tackles and two pass breakups in four games.
As noted in our article on Tennessee Pututau yesterday, the Utes’ defensive tackle position is once again loaded. Moala not only brings experience, he also gives Utah a rare commodity with his size, listed at 6-foot-6 and 323 pounds. A strong offseason and upcoming camp will be important for Moala to establish himself as a key cog on the line.
UteNation take
After arriving to Utah as a raw but physically gifted G5 defender, Moala excelled in a backup role to Leki Fotu in 2019, playing in all 14 games. He had a season high four tackles and a pass breakup against Idaho State. Expectations were high for him going into the 2020 season, he only started in three of the five games, playing in four of them. A lot of this had to do with the emergence of younger talent,
The massive tackle has a chance to punch his ticket for a shot at the NFL after this season, based largely on his measurables. What he does with his opportunities from there, is up to him. Along with Hauati Pututau, he’ll be a veteran leader among the defensive tackles. However, he needs a strong fall camp and start of the season to get entrenched as the starter. Along with the emergence of former defensive end Devin Kaufusi, Utah has shown they won’t hesitate to give important reps to underclassmen.
Moala has a golden opportunity, now let’s see if he can take it and run with it.
Alex Remembers Moala’s Recruitment
After being lightly recruited out of America Samoa, Moala played in 24 games, including eight starts in two years at the University of Hawaii. Soon, Moala was looking for a challenge and he was prepared to take a gamble by proving himself in a more prestigious conference, leading to him walking on at Utah and eventually earning a scholarship.
