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SALT LAKE CITY — There's an expectation — maybe call it a duty — at defensive end at the University of Utah.
Every player that suits up at the edge position knows the guy that played before him and the impactful role he had when he played for the Utes. The pressure is tough to be the next guy tasked with a starting role — to live up to those expectations set by his predecessors.
Mika Tafua. Bradlee Anae. Kylie Fitts. Hunter Dimick. Pita Taumoepenu. Nate Orchard. Trevor Reilly.
Tafua led the Pac-12 in sacks (9.5) last season, Anae finished with 13 sacks in 2019 to rank seventh in the country, Dimick finished the 2016 season with the third-most sacks in the country (14.5), and Orchard wrapped up the 2014 season with an astonishing 18.5 sacks — just narrowly missing out by one sack for the most in the nation that season.
Dimick added an additional 10 sacks that 2014 season to make the two arguably the toughest duo in the country at the position.
The list could go on, and it does with impactful players at the position for as long as most Utah fans — and the players that are tasked with the role — can remember. If there's an area where Utah has seemingly perfected the recruiting pool, it's on the defensive line, and most notably the edge position.
So in a season where Utah is ranked No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, there's little room for error for a team looking to reach new heights. But the belief from the coaching staff and the players that occupy that room is that the current roster not only has top-tier talent but arguably the deepest room it's ever had at the position.
"We have a really deep group," said defensive end coach Lewis Powell. "I think that's the first time we've had — this is the first camp where we have a bunch of guys that we feel comfortable with and we feel like one of those guys in the game there isn't as much of a drop-off. I feel like it's going to be a group that's pretty stout and able to do what we're asking them to do."
It's a position group that has often been dominated by one or two star players as they wreak havoc on opposing teams and their quarterbacks. They crash the line, collapse pockets, and attack the quarterback, which has often given them the "mayor of Sack Lake City" title for the frequency at which they're able to pick up sacks.
And though Utah still has those guys — sophomore Van Fillinger returns as the most experienced and game-ready, and one expected to have an even more impactful year — Powell said his group will be one done by committee this year. The players on the field will depend on the opposing teams' scheme and what Utah is trying to accomplish on a certain down.
If the defense needs brute strength to stop the run, it has guys ready to step up; if speed on the edge is required, Utah can alter its lineup without missing a beat. The physicality, the speed, the depth are there for Utah's defensive ends, Powell said.
Outside of Fillinger — who Powell said is a "sponge and a student of the game" as he continues to improve each season — there are Stanford transfer Gabe Reid; sophomores Jonah Elliss, Miki Suguturaga and Connor O'Toole; and freshmen Chase Kennedy, who have all gotten early praise from the coaching staff as standout players in the mix for playing time.
"It's not just gonna be one guy that's dominating the speed rush, or the pass rush, or bull rush or whatever; it's gonna be all of us," Suguturaga said. "We're all going to work on things that we're not particularly strong at but keep working towards getting the whole room on the same level.
"I started noticing that there's a lot of the guys in the room that are athletic; it's not just one dude — just all of us. We're all getting better together. We're gonna dominate this year."
Suguturaga has been with the program since 2019 and had one of the more impressive offseasons, according to head coach Kyle Whittingham. He's one of the leading candidates to get extended playing time opposite of Fillinger and has become a leader on the line in his play. Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said Suguturaga has "honed his game" and has learned to tap into what he does best.
"He understands he's not the fastest off the edge, but he's quick," Scalley said. "He uses that to his advantage — quickness and strength and power. So he's got his toolbox of what he's going to use in the pass rush game. When he takes on tight ends, not many tight ends are going to overpower him. So a lot like Mika (Tafua), he's providing a lot of physicalities and some quickness."
And though Suguturaga brings a good combination of strength and speed, Elliss, O'Toole and Kennedy bring pure speed off the edge and make opposing offenses uncomfortable. Scalley described them as a "little bit twitchy," which "puts some pressure on those tackles" as they get off the line of scrimmage quickly.
O'Toole was moved from wide receiver to defensive end in the offseason and put on 30 pounds. He has quickly become one of the most talked about players in the position group.
"He's really taken advantage of the weight room, of our fueling station," Scalley said. "That's a guy that's put on 30 pounds and still he's fast off the edge. So we're excited about him and the depth we have at the defensive end spot."
"Right off the get, I could tell he was going to be a great asset to our defensive end room," Suguturaga said of O'Toole. "A lot of guys didn't think so because he's a wide receiver come to D-end. I could see just the grit and determination in his eye. Being able to just gain the weight so easily, and then his speed and hands is next to none."
Borrowing from his time spent at wide receiver, O'Toole has become an asset to the position group in other ways, too; he's helped his fellow edge players learn how to get a good initial jump — their "get offs" — at the line of scrimmage.
"I kind of picked up on that a little," Suguturaga said. "It's good to see a lot of different guys in the room — Van and me are kind of like the bigger guys that just bull rush and stuff, and then the speed guys like Jonah and Connor, we can just learn from each other and get better in that sense."
"It's really me and Connor that are really pushing it," Elliss said. "I mean, even Miki and Van, all of our get offs is — something we've been really focusing on is just our get off because that means so much when it comes to pass rushing and really getting off the ball."
How each player will be mixed into the defensive scheme is still to be seen, but Utah expects to have a diverse defensive front that is able to continue to wreak havoc on teams — maybe just with a few new wrinkles mixed into the schemes this year. And more importantly, it has the potential to give players more rest as the team utilizes its committee approach.
"That just means more and more people playing, and it's good," Powell said. "We have two guys with Van and Miki, we know those guys are pretty stout and strong in the run game. And then we can rotate and put in Jonah and Connor; and those guys are pretty — really athletic — and we could do different things with those two.
"It's been an awesome fall camp, and it's been good to watch these guys develop and grow throughout the last — from spring and carrying on to fall."
Correction: In an earlier version, Miki Suguturaga's name was incorrectly spelled Mike. Mika Tafua's name was also incorrectly spelled Miki.
