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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Copper Hills defensive lineman and current Seattle Seahawks pro Sealver Siliga watched every summer as his friends went off to specialized football camps for skill position players.
But as a lineman, he rarely got that chance.
So he and a few buddies decided to change that. The University of Utah graduate teamed up with fellow NFL big men Zane Beadles, Haloti Ngata, D.J. Tialavea, Star Lotuleilei and Tenny Palepoi during the Big Men camp at Olympus High School to give high school big men the chance to get better what they do best: either protect the quarterback, or get into the backfield quicker.
There’s no better camp founder than Siliga, who tallied 41 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as a junior in 2010, and no better location than Utah, which has produced its fair share of NFL linemen from Utah, Utah State, BYU and Southern Utah.
“I feel like me and a lot of guys talk about it all the time, that you never hear about stuff like this,” Siliga said. “It had me thinking how cool it is to give back to these kids, after we were the kids looking up to the older guys.
“Now it’s our job to give back to the kids who were in our shoes back in the day, and see a vision that right now they can’t see.”
The camp was partially dedicated to former Copper Hills offensive line coach Eric Gunderson, a close personal friend of Siliga to whom he credits much of his NFL career. Gunderson passed away a week ago.
But in memory of “Gundo,” Siliga hopes to give back to a group of high school players in the same way his former coach did to him.
“I just met a couple of kids who some of the coaches were shocked, because they didn’t know who they were,” Siliga said. “So now I’m pretty happy that these kids are getting a little look. My biggest goal was to teach them something, and some of them are now on big schools’ radars.”
Often called “the big uglies” and “the hogs upfront,” linemen are becoming year-round projects just like any position player — and their values at the next level keeps increasing.
“I think they know what these kids have to offer,” said Tialavea, the former Utah State standout who now plays tight end for the Atlanta Falcons. “There’s a lot of potential in the young generation. We’ve been in their footsteps, and I think we can really benefit these kids by coming gout and showing them what they’ve learned throughout the year.”
Colleges definitely took notice at this week’s Big Men camp.
“When you hear from the guys who do it every day, these guys are role models for these kids,” said Jasen Ah You, the former Westlake assistant coach who currently works as BYU’s director of football athletic relations. “Hopefully a lot of the things they can learn will teach these kids to be positive and good in the game of football.”
Siliga won an NFL championship with the New England Patriots, but just signed a free-agent contract with Seattle.
“When I left for New England, I had a few harsh feelings. But the Super Bowl helped clean that up for me,” Siliga said with a laugh. “Going back to Seattle was hard, because I loved the organization. But Pete Carroll and all them welcomed me with open arms, and I’m really excited with what we are about to do this year.”
