SAN JOSE — At this time a year ago, Connor O’Toole was coming off a second year shortened by injury at the University of Utah.
The talented edge rusher had shown during his time in Salt Lake City that he could be an impactful player at the NFL level, but those injuries had shortened his opportunities at the tail end of his collegiate career to showcase those talents.
Fast forward to February 2026, and one of football’s most coveted prizes is within reach for O’Toole.
While O’Toole went undrafted, he found himself with the Seattle Seahawks, made the active roster as an undrafted free agent — not the easiest of paths — and will suit up for the Seahawks on Sunday in Super Bowl LX (4:30 p.m. MST, NBC) when they face the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium.
“Right after the draft, going undrafted, the biggest thing was just trying to prove myself and make a name for myself and get a roster spot ultimately,” O’Toole told the Deseret News on Wednesday during the Seahawks’ media session at the San Jose Convention Center.
“But coming into a place that has such a great defense — whole team, honestly — but such great vets that I’ve been able to learn from and suck up (info from) as much as I can, it’s been awesome.”
What he’s learned from his first NFL season
In O’Toole’s first season in the NFL, he has primarily played on special teams. He logged 125 total snaps during the regular season, with 97 of those on special teams.
In the postseason, the 23-year-old outside linebacker has played 41 special teams snaps, or 77.4% of the Seahawks’ special teams snaps in the playoffs.
While O’Toole had minimal stats this season, including eight tackles, his best play of the year came when he recovered a fumble on a kickoff return in a Week 9 win over Washington. That takeaway led to a Seahawks touchdown the next play.
This first year has been a learning experience, one he’s embraced.
“The NFL season is a lot longer than the college season. What goes into that? How to take care of your body, how to prepare for games, week in, week out — that’s been a huge thing,” O’Toole said.
During the preseason, O’Toole showed the kind of promise he might have as a pro, when he had a sack and nine QB pressures. This year, he’s been able to lean on edge rushers like DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu to help his learning curve.
“Honestly, the D-line group as a whole, we got a very experienced veteran group. And the unique thing is, everyone’s had different stops in their careers, and everyone has a different style of play, or they handle things different ways,” O’Toole said. “So depending on the situation that I’m in, there’s a handful of different guys that I can go to, and they’ll point me in the right direction.”
Now, they’re one win away from winning a Super Bowl, which would be just the second in Seahawks franchise history.
“It’s crazy. Some of the guys (on our team) who’ve been in the league for like, 10 years, and this is our first Super Bowl. So to be able to be here my rookie year is a blessing, super cool experience,” O’Toole said. “(I’m) just trying to soak in the moment and also get prepared for the game at same time.”
O’Toole’s time at Utah, and how it prepared him for the NFL
O’Toole came to Utah as a three-star wide receiver out of New Mexico, and his first year — the COVID-shortened 2020 season — he didn’t see any action.
After earning minimal playing time in 2021, he transitioned over to defense, making the switch to defensive end in spring 2022.
That change launched O’Toole on a trajectory that helped land him in the NFL.
In the 2022 season, O’Toole played in all 14 games and started five while posting 41 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
He became a fixture on the defensive side of the ball for the Utes, and though injuries limited him to eight games in each of his junior and senior seasons at Utah, O’Toole showed those flashes of what he’s capable of when he was on the field.
He had 4.5 sacks as a junior, then 2.5 in 2024, all while finishing his time at Utah with 104 career tackles and 15 tackles for loss, along with four pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
“It was a great place. I learned so much there and grew so much there. I never had the career that I quite wanted to football-wise, just had some injuries my last two years there that I wasn’t able to play for a large majority of it, which was unfortunate, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” O’Toole said. “Utah was a great place. It’s like my second home. I’m forever grateful for my time that I had there.”
Now, he’s a part of a brotherhood of Utes — more than 30 strong — that is in the NFL. That includes another former Utah defender, cornerback Miles Battle, who’s a cornerback for New England on the Patriots’ practice squad.
Either way, one former Ute will win a Super Bowl ring Sunday.
“A lot of of my good friends are playing for a handful of different teams, and so to be able to chat with them, talk to them, there’s another group of guys that I can go to and talk with, and they’ll give me advice,” O’Toole said of Utah’s representation in the NFL.
“Guys who have been through it, gone before me in that sense, but it’s such a great brotherhood. And Utah is so connected. The culture there is amazing.”
Weighing in on Morgan Scalley’s promotion
In December, O’Toole’s former defensive coordinator at Utah, Morgan Scalley, was elevated to the Utes’ head coach after Kyle Whittingham stepped down and eventually ended up in the same role as Michigan.
Scalley is a Utah Man through and through — in addition to playing collegiately for the Utes, he has coached at Utah since 2007, including the past 10 seasons as defensive coordinator.
O’Toole believes he is a perfect fit for the Utah head coach position.
“I’m super excited to see Coach Scalley as a head coach. Ever since I’ve been at Utah, I always knew that he was going to be a great head coach. I’m super excited to see him step into that role. He’s going to do great the way that he established his culture, especially being on the defensive side of the ball. I saw that firsthand,” O’Toole said.
Now that culture that Scalley established on the defensive side at Utah will have the opportunity to permeate throughout the entire program. And his impact — and care — goes beyond the field.
“For him to do that with the entire team, he’s a phenomenal coach. His passion is unmatched. He has great energy, and he’s a football genius, with those skills that he has,” O’Toole said.
“He’s a great man. He cares about his guys. He loves his guys more beyond just the football field. So I know guys will buy into the culture that he has, and you know he’s going to do a great job.”
