SALT LAKE CITY — Leki Fotu, drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft, is progressing through his first training camp as a pro — a different experience than it normally would be due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no preseason games or rookie minicamp, there’s less time to get acclimated to the highest level of football.
Fotu has made an impression on his Cardinals coaches from simply walking in the door at the facility.
“He’s a massive human being,” Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury told the Arizona Republic.
“Leki is one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever been around,” defensive line coach Brenston Buckner said.
Fotu, the subject of a new Arizona Republic article, is already garnering praise from teammates and coaches alike. The 6-foot-5, 335-pound defensive tackle from Utah, who also played at Herriman High School, was one of the top defensive tackles in the nation during his senior season at Utah with 29 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 2019. He earned second-team All-America honors and was named to the All-Pac-12 first team.
Cardinals defensive end Jordan Phillips took note of Fotu’s agility.
“He’s going to be the biggest, dynamic football player we’ve seen in a long time.” — Cardinals defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, on Leki Fotu
“You just look at him and I’m like, ‘How are you this big? How do you move this well?’ Once he can make that transition from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4, getting off the ball, attacking, being violent, he’s going to be a problem,” Phillips said. “He’s going to be the biggest, dynamic football player we’ve seen in a long time.”
Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is hopeful that Fotu will play 15-20 snaps per game in the regular season, according to the article.
Arizona opens its season at San Francisco on Sept. 13 at 2:25 p.m. MDT.