Utah defensive tackles coach, Luther Elliss, has his work cut out for him this spring with a thin position group. Utah lost Junior Tafuna to the upcoming NFL Draft, while Simote Pepa and Keanu Tanuvasa went into the transfer portal to Washington and BYU, respectively.
The game experience for the returners is minimal, but the potential, per usual, with this group is still there. Aliki Vimahi returns as the seasoned vet, and from there, everyone else is underclassmen. A lot of eyes will be on this group in spring and through the offseason, but in Elliss, everyone always trusts.
Here’s a look at the defensive tackles heading into spring ball:
The Potential Starters
Dallas Vakalahi
Sophomore, 6-foot-2 and 313 pounds
The talented sophomore is expected to be the next in a long line of dominant Utah defensive tackles. As a freshman, Vakalahi played in nine games and started three. He led all Utah freshmen with 16 total tackles (2.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks) and 5.5 third-down stops.
Utah defensive line coaches Luther Elliss and Lewis Powell both have high expectations for Vakalahi going into 2025 spring ball where he’ll get valuable reps with the starters.
Aliki Vimahi
Senior, 6-foot-4 and 296 pounds
The veteran of the group, by the end of his sophomore season, Vimahi had started in 11 total games. Since then, he’s started in two over the next two years. Vimahi only played in four games during the 2024 season, so he took advantage of his redshirt year in order to return for what should be a much more featured role.
During his time at Utah, Vimahi has been a solid performer that just happened to find himself behind studs in the position group.
Jonah Lea’ea
Sophomore, 6-foot-5 and 271 pounds
The anticipation for Lea’ea has been building. He initially came to Utah as a defensive end, before packing on enough weight that the potential was there for him to move inside to defensive tackle. While he’s still a little lighter for the position, he’ll continue to add weight and he should be a fixture in the middle of the defensive trenches.
The Freshman
With it currently being a thin group, Utah is likely to hit the spring portal for some depth prices. Until then, both Sione Motuapuaka and Karson Kaufusi will see some valuable spring reps. Motuapuaka has a lot of work to do in the weight room before seeing meaningful action, as he’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 268 pounds.
Kaufusi, however, provides a ton of intrigue due to his size (6-foot-6 and 286 pounds) and his Kaufusi family bloodlines. The son of former Ute standout, Doug Kaufusi, Karson was the top defensive lineman at Utah’s camp last summer as he dominated the competition.
