We have a lot of weapons in that area and we plan to use them as much as we can. Our tight ends have great hands and are great route-runners, and we plan to utilize them the best we can.’’ – Utah QB Travis Wilson
SALT LAKE CITY — One of the most overlooked positions on the Utah football team this year, at least on offense, is tight end.
We know all about fourth-year starting quarterback Travis Wilson, all-American running back candidate Devontae Booker, Kenneth Scott and the young group of receivers and an offensive line featuring four returning starters.
But quick now, who is the starting tight end for the Utes this year?
If you said Siale Fakailoatonga, give yourself a gold star. If you know how to pronounce his name, give yourself five gold stars.
Not a lot is known about Fakailoatonga (Fah-kah-ee-loh-ah-tong-ah), since he caught only two passes each of the past two seasons. The other tight ends on the roster have caught zero.
But neither head coach Kyle Whittingham nor tight ends coach Lewis Powell seems concerned there will be a dropoff in production at the position, which was manned by Westlee Tonga last year and Jake Murphy the two years before that.
While Fakailoatonga is listed as the starter, he is being pushed hard by a couple of others — senior Evan Moeai and sophomore Harrison Handley. All three are local products and all three could see significant action this season
“We’ve got three guys competing and knowing there’s not one day they can let up,’’ said Powell, the first-year tight ends coach. “Siale is our bigger guy and a good blocker and Evan’s more of our receiver guy while Harry comes in and is a little bit of both of those guys. So it’s a good mix of everything we need to be successful on the field. It’s a good problem for me to have as a coach.’’
While tight ends are primarily blockers, Wilson sees all three players as good targets in the passing game.
“We have a lot of weapons in that area and we plan to use them as much as we can,’’ he said. “Our tight ends have great hands and are great route-runners, and we plan to utilize them the best we can.’’
All three players praise their coach, saying they enjoy playing for him much more than last year’s tight ends coach, Dave Christensen.
“I love coach Lew, he’s the man,’’ said Fakailoatonga. “We’ve had some different types of coaches that we’ve been super uptight with, but with coach Lew, everything seems to run more smoothly. We can perform better because we’re not so stressed. He’s more positive.’’
Handley agrees, saying, “It’s good getting a new coach in here who respects the players and loves each of us. I’ve learned more about being a tight end than I ever have. It’s been a good camp.’’
Besides the aforementioned trio of tight ends, the Utes also have freshman Wallace Gonzalez, a former minor league infielder who redshirted last year, and Caleb Repp, a freshman from California. But that pair may have a hard time seeing the field this year because of the talented threesome in front of them.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Fakailoatonga stands out in part because of his name, which is 13 letters and seven syllables long.
“A lot of people have a rough time saying it,’’ he said with a laugh. “Some of my friends watch the games on TV and they say the commentators just butcher my name. It’s not that hard if you sound out every letter.’’
While he is known for his blocking, Fakailoatonga feels his pass-catching is underrated.
“I like to say I can catch the ball while everybody else says I’m the blocking tight end, which I agree with as well,’’ he said. “My blocking is pretty good because I’m the bigger guy. I want to be known as a dual threat, somebody who can catch the ball as well as block. That’s the goal this year.’’
Fakailoatonga, a junior, played for Cottonwood High in Salt Lake and said he came to Utah because of the “strong brotherhood’’ that exists among the Ute players. He says the team has worked a lot on the passing game this fall and that it should be much improved over last year.
“I expect some pretty big things,’’ he said. “Other teams are going to have to respect us on both sides of the ball.’’
Moeai (Mo-ee-ah-ee) has come a long way from his senior year at Mountain View High School, where he didn’t even make all-region and caught a total of seven passes.
“I weighed a buck ninety and didn’t get recruited at all,’’ he says.
He decided to walk on at Snow College where he hit a growth spurt and gained some speed. After catching 32 passes for 375 yards and eight touchdowns, he was signed by Utah. He’s played sparingly the past two years, but his receiving ability, in particular, makes him a possible starter this year.
“I’m most effective in the pass game and that’s my role lately,’’ he said. “But I do get in there in the run game. You have to be good at both and it’s something I’ve really been trying to work on lately. I’m trying to stick my head in there and block those bigger guys on the line and make sure they don’t think I’m going out for a route every time.’’
The 6-5, 245-pound Handley is the son of former BYU tight end Darren Handley, who was one of a long line of Cougar standouts at the tight end position and led the team in receptions in 1987.
After young Handley starred for Alta High School, a lot of folks figured he would follow his father’s footsteps and play for BYU.
However, Handley, who was also recruited by schools such as Stanford and Boise State, decided to choose Utah over BYU.
“My dad was all about me making the right decision and making sure it was all about me and not on him,’’ Handley said. “It’s been awesome. I’m very happy with the choice and don’t regret anything about it. It’s the greatest experience I could have had.’’
Handley has been singled out for his play in camp by Whittingham, and Powell says of him, “Harry’s been coming in and making clutch plays. He’s not making it easy for us.’’
Handley says “running routes and catching the ball’’ are his best attributes and adds ‘’I need to get better with my blocking and get my pad level down.’’
He’s also the backup long snapper and plays on the kickoff team.
Handley added, “I’m hoping to get in there and contribute and do anything I can to get on the field."