Gabe Long was literally thrown into the mix last season. One day after enrolling at Utah, the defensive tackle saw action in the Utes' 48-0 win over Utah State in Logan.
"That was a shock. I was scared when I first got in. I didn't want to step into the wrong gap," Long said of his September surprise. "Luckily, Coach A. (Gary Andersen) had me in a room focusing on chairs and which gap to go. He stuck with me and I'm real grateful he helped me out."
By season's end, the former Southern Cal recruit had appeared in nine more games and made three starts. The junior wound up making 23 tackles with 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage including 1.5 sacks.
"He handled it extremely well. He learned a lot of football in a short period of time," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "He was not in great shape when we got him, but he played himself into shape during the course of the season.
"He played a lot of good snaps for us — particularly in the bowl game," Whittingham added. "We're counting on him to be the anchor of the defensive tackles."
Long, a senior, will be Utah's starting nose tackle this season. Being in the program for spring ball, summer conditioning and fall camp has been beneficial, he said.
"It feels real good," Long noted. "I'm in shape now, and I feel more part of the team now."
Whittingham said it's made a world of difference.
"I think he's the best-kept secret in the Mountain West Conference right now because no one really knows about him," Whittingham continued. "He just spot played last year. He's a talented kid."
Long was a junior college All-American in Fullerton, Calif. He was a member of USC's 2005 recruiting class but did not qualify academically by the signing date in February. After earning his associate's degree the next year, he joined the Utes.
Long and sophomore Kenape Eliapo are replacing Paul Soliai and Kelly Talavou as Utah's starting tackles on the defensive line. Junior Aaron Tonga, true freshman Lei Talamaivao and redshirt freshman Neli A'asa are also in the rotation.
At defensive end, senior Martail Burnett is an all-conference candidate. Greg Newman, a junior who transferred to Utah from Colorado, is the other starter. Senior Alex Puccinelli, sophomore Koa Misi and redshirt freshman Paul Kruger are expected to provide support in reserve.
"We're athletic. We're a little bit different than we were a year ago," Andersen said of the defensive line. "We're not as big and physical, but we are faster and we have more kids that we can rotate through there. We'll rotate those kids through quite often to stay as fresh as we can."
Though several of the youngsters lack experience at the collegiate level, Andersen expects them to react positively.
"There's going to be some errors and there's going to be some mistakes," he said. "But they play fast, they care a lot and I believe they want to be very, very good."
Andersen had additional praise for this season's defensive line.
"It's one of the hardest-working groups that I've ever had," Andersen said. "It's just a matter of grasping it all mentally. I look forward to watching them run around."
Utah's defensive linemen
2006 STARTERS: Martail Burnett started at open end, while Soli Lefiti, Alex Puccinelli and Gabe Long made starts at the five-technique spot. Paul Soliai and Kelly Talavou were the starting tackles.
ANTICIPATED 2007 STARTERS: Burnett and junior Greg Newman are the starting defensive ends. Long and sophomore Kenape Eliapo will start at tackle.
OTHER DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Aaron Tonga, junior will be in the tackle rotation.
Lei Talamaivao, true freshman will see action at tackle.
Neli A'asa, redshirt freshman had a strong camp.
Koa Misi, sophomore in mix at defensive end.
Paul Kruger, freshman end used to be a quarterback.
Alex Puccinelli, senior providing veteran leadership.
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com