Back in 1996 when he was the coach of East High's football team, Keeko Georgelas admired Sione Pouha for his leadership abilities, for his gusto on and off the gridiron, for his work ethic and, of course, for his feet.
"He had great feet for his size," Georgelas recalled of his former all-state lineman.
Nearly a decade later, those nimble and fleet feet, among other things, are carrying the 6-foot-3, 329-pound defensive tackle into the NFL. The East High alumnus and ex-University of Utah standout was drafted in the third round Saturday by the New York Jets.
As one can imagine, Georgelas beamed when hearing that one of his former players made it to the big show. Though Georgelas was an assistant coach at the old South High for several other would-be pro players and draftees — like Alfred Pupunu and brothers Steve and Rich Kaufusi — he had never been the head coach of a future NFLer until Pouha was selected Saturday with the 88th pick. He said it's pretty neat to know he had him under his wings for a while.
"It's a good feeling, you're just proud of him, darned proud of him, really," Georgelas said. "Along the way, from little league to high school to college, all those (coaches) who had an association with him hopefully had a part of that (getting drafted)."
Georgelas, now Murray High's main man, is not surprised that Jets coach Herm Edwards picked up Pouha, who helped East win its last state championship nine years ago along with the likes of Jason Kaufusi. Georgelas has always sensed his former team captain had great potential — and not just because of his tootsies. And if he's as easy to coach now as he was back in the mid-1990s, Edwards should have no problems with this defensive beast from East.
"He's one of my all-time favorites. He's just an awesome kid," Georgelas said. "I think back and he was a very good leader. He just enjoyed to play the game, led by example. I do remember him just as a kid who never missed anything — very spiritual, very positive and played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm."
Two days after the draft, Georgelas said he was talking with some other coaches about Pouha. He told them that he had coached more physically talented kids but they lacked one thing that Pouha had.
"They didn't have his positive attitude," Georgelas said. "That's why he'll go far in life."
They also didn't have, he added, Pouha's outstanding work ethic. That helped him become a four-year letterman, a two-year starter and an All-Mountain West Conference college stud. He also was on the Student Athlete Mentor program at the U.
"Most people are too lazy to scratch what they itch for. When you're willing to get after it and you've got some talent on top of it, the rest takes care of itself — and that's Sione," he said. "It wasn't handed to him. He just kept working at it. The harder you work, the luckier you get."
As much as he's thrilled for Pouha — whose path to the NFL took so long because of his LDS mission to Pittsburgh from 1998-2000 — Georgelas is happiest for the kids growing up in this NFL player's former neighborhood. He hopes they learn from the example of this powerful man — he benches 475 pounds and squats 675 — who has risen to greatness on the football field but who also is a good community member. Remember, Pouha not only helped the Utes win the Fiesta Bowl, he also once took the time and risk to save a woman from a house fire.
"He's going to be a great role model for those kids down there on the west side. That's probably what I'm most excited about," he said. "There's a lot of kids who want to make excuses and they never get anywhere, but when there's kids like him who keep working at it and don't feel sorry for themselves then that's what happens, good things come their way."
Now he only hopes his current Spartans will learn from his former Leopard.
E-mail: jody@desnews.com