Luafatasaga Looking to Dominate
When it comes to schemes, some guys learn at a different pace. That’s especially the case in for University of Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham’s defensive system. A one time Ole Miss commit, Kavika Luafatasaga was a late steal by the University of Utah from the JuCo class of 2016. Expected to come in and take the Pac-12 by storm, it was instead a process for the talented backer.
“Last year, in the beginning when I started fall camp, I was out of shape,” admitted Luafatasaga. “They threw me in with the 1’s, and I didn’t really know anything about the defense, but I had to learn it. They knew what was expected of me, but they knew and I knew I wasn’t ready by the time fall camp started until the first game.”
Despite the early struggles, he refused to hang his head and worked tirelessly to get to the level that the Utes needed him to be.
“As I made my way throughout the season, I started to pick it up more and got more comfortable,” he said. “Every week at practice, I’d get extra work in with Coach Ena after practice and watching film. After that, I was comfortable with it. They knew what I could do, it was up to me. I had to find it in myself.
“Toward the end of the season, I was comfortable, I could move around and not think as much coming out on the field. I could just get the play and know what I was doing on the field. Then spring was good, I was still improving over the spring and summer trying to be the best I could be.”
While most will point to the tail end of the season for Luafatasaga’s breakthrough, he started to feel he belonged at this level, far earlier, by taking satisfaction in his steady improvements.
“I was pumped up that (Coach Ena) was going to put me in going against USC and I just wanted to come out (and dominate),’ he said. “Over the last four games of the season, that’s when I really knew that this defense was a good fit and I had it down.”
Luafatasaga’s development under Ena, has been something to marvel over. The talent has always been there, but now in 2017, he’s likely to find himself in the conversation for the best linebacker in the Pac-12 by season’s end.
“I want to be the best Pac-12 linebacker,” he said. “I feel like with our defense and our linebacking group, we’re gonna surprise a lot of people this year. For me, I want everything that a linebacker wants—a lot of tackles, a lot of turnovers, sacks, anything I can do to help out the team. It doesn’t really matter about me, I just want to play to the best of my abilities. Stats do matter, but I just want to make the team better.”
Once out of shape and behind on the schemes, Luafatasaga has now thrust himself in the NFL Draft conversation, all within a year’s time. The sky’s the limit for a freakish talent, who has never stopped working.
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