SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been a long, hard road for Sione Lund.
The journey of this former four-star recruit and Brighton High star running back is filled with twists and turns, but after a transfer and a position change, Lund is back home — a promising sophomore on one of the best Utah football teams in school history.
In high school, Lund was the state’s premier running back. At Brighton, he rushed for more than 4,000 yards and scored 45 touchdowns during his career. He was one of the highest-rated recruits from the state, holding offers from Michigan, Wisconsin, LSU, Nebraska, USC, Washington and Utah, among others, before signing with Stanford in 2017. Lund redshirted his freshman season at Stanford and struggled throughout the year due to a battle with depression and anxiety.
In November 2017, Lund announced that he was transferring from Stanford to Utah.
“When I transferred from there, for me mentally, the main factor was I needed a big support group, of course my parents. I needed to be somewhere where I could consistently see them and receive the help that I could get,” Lund said.
After transferring ahead of the 2018 season, Lund could practice with the team but couldn’t play in games, which he said was hard, but it was beneficial for him to get a better feel for linebacker and form a relationship with his coaches.
“Utah felt like home. The University of Utah and the guys here, since Day 1, it’s been a warm welcoming. I think immediately I felt like part of the family,” Lund said.
Lund quickly found brothers within the program in the tight-knit linebacker group.
“We always plan to do something as a group every week or two. This group has been amazing and we’re all really tight-knit and we feel like brothers. I really do like this group a lot,” Lund said.
With a stable of running backs, led by senior Zack Moss, Utah converted Lund from running back to linebacker, which was a tough transition at first.
“It was kind of tough, here in our defense. There’s a lot of different verbiage and things like that. I was just so offensive-minded and all I thought was ‘ball and end zone.’ Defense, there’s a lot of things you have to realize, but I think I’ve adapted pretty well. It’s starting to take over who I am. I’m feeling like a linebacker now,” Lund said.
Linebackers coach Colton Swan drew similarities between the two positions Lund has played, comparing being a linebacker to being a running back without the ball.
“I always say this to the linebackers: ‘You guys have to understand something, a lot of what you do is the exact same thing a running back does — you’re just minus the football. The path that you’re scraping, whether it’s inside or outside, hitting green grass, hitting holes, things like that — doing a lot of the same stuff a running back would do, a running back does,’” Swan said earlier in the fall.
Lund gradually learned the position and trimmed his weight. After a season practicing with the team, Lund was ready to hit the field and see his first college action. He has played in every game on the special teams unit. On defense, Lund has participated in seven games, including making a start at linebacker against UCLA. Lund has six tackles this season, including a season-high two against the Bruins.
“It’s just kind of a testament of the hard work I’ve been putting in this season and just trying to catch up and keep up with all of the starters. I’ve been working really hard toward that. Credit to my coaches as well for bringing me along and catching me up. It’s been great, it’s great to get my feet wet and be out there flying around with the guys,” Lund said.
Lund has seen increased action when opposing teams play two or three tight ends. To counter, Utah will go into a 4-3 defensive scheme, with Francis Bernard, Devin Lloyd and Lund as the three linebackers.
“Sione is just a sophomore and really has made a lot of progress as a linebacker. He played tailback in high school — he played defense as well — but I think coming out of high school I think a lot of people thought his future was going to be on offense. We think he’s going to be an outstanding linebacker.” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“Sione Lund right now is the third backer when we go to the 4-3 scheme, which used to be our base and what we used to live in 75 percent of the time is now typically, in a given week, 15 percent of the time at best,” Whittingham said in November.
As Lund has adjusted to his new position, his coaches have taken notice and are rewarding him on the field.
“A lot of progress with scheme but I think the thing that’s allowing him to make more plays and feel more comfortable is the weight control. He came in and he was overweight. He’s dropped the weight, he’s done what we’ve asked him to do and he’s seeing his reps increase,” Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said.
Whittingham sees a bright future for Lund at linebacker.
“Sione is just a sophomore and really has made a lot of progress as a linebacker. He played tailback in high school — he played defense as well — but I think coming out of high school I think a lot of people thought his future was going to be on offense. We think he’s going to be an outstanding linebacker,” Whittingham said.
Lund credits a lot of his development to the coaching staff — Whittingham, Scalley, Swan and others.
“This coaching staff, they really bring out the best in you. They’re the guys that will critique you the hardest but then they’ll also love you the hardest,” Lund said. “I think that’s been the biggest thing in developing me and becoming part of this defense is really just paying attention to what coach Scalley, all the other coaches, coach Swan, what they’re trying to convey to me.”
Though the position change may have been challenging at first, Lund has fully embraced the linebacker spot.
“Being a linebacker for me, personally, I think it’s where I belong. I think I can fit in well and eventually become one of the next great linebackers that have been through here,” Lund said.
Most importantly, after two years back in Utah, Lund’s mental health is improving.
“Two years back here, the ship’s sailing pretty smoothly right now. The biggest thing I try and tell people is every day is a fight, you have to learn how to deal with it, never take a step back. I think for the most part, we’re doing pretty well in terms of me being better mentally,” Lund said.