Utah has a handful of experienced leaders mixed with a large group of promising freshmen at DT. Can it all come together by Week 1?
One of the question marks for the Utah football team going into the 2025 season is what the team can expect — and be able to rely on — from its defensive tackle group.
The top of the depth chart for the Utes isn’t the question — senior Aliki Vimahi and sophomore Dallas Vakalahi are expected to start on the interior of the defensive line and have the experience to fill those starter shoes vacated by Junior Tafuna (who’s in the NFL) and Keanu Tanuvasa (transferred to BYU).
Sophomore Jonah Lea’ea is also penned in to be a major contributor in Utah’s defensive tackle plans.
The question is who else will be in the defensive tackle rotation, and how deep that can go. Right now, Utah defensive tackle coach Luther Elliss isn’t sure how deep of a rotation he’ll be able to utilize from a group of 10 defensive tackles that includes six freshmen.
“We’ll find out. Everybody looks good on paper. Everybody looks good in person. But once those pads come on, that’s when you’re going to separate and find out who you can really depend on and do those things,” Elliss said Wednesday as the Utes opened fall camp.
Over the next month, Elliss has his expectations for how fall camp needs to go — and what this group has to show to live up to a strong reputation Utah has for developing stout, disruptive defensive tackles.
“I want to see these guys have that growth because we are young. I need to see them being consistent in their play and not repeating the same mistakes,” Elliss said. “That’s what I’m hoping to get out of this group is just guys that play consistent football, fast, physical football and doing what we want to do is get that knock back, create havoc.”
Who does Utah have at defensive tackle?
Here’s how the Utes’ defensive tackle room breaks down, by eligibility:
Graduate student
- Aliki Vimahi — 6-foot-4, 296 pounds
Redshirt sophomore
- Jonah Lea’ea — 6-foot-5, 271 pounds
Sophomore
- Mike Tauteoli — 6-foot-4, 297 pounds
- Dallas Vakalahi — 6-foot-2, 313 pounds
Freshmen
- Dilan Battle — 6-foot-2, 313 pounds
- Karson Kaufusi — 6-foot-6, 286 pounds
- Sione Motuapuaka — 5-foot-11, 268 pounds
- Taniela Pepa — 6-foot-3, 230 pounds
- Pupu Sepulona — 6-foot-2, 274 pounds
- Semi Taulanga — 5-foot-11, 336 pounds
Who will lead this group?
Vimahi has been with the program since 2020 and has 13 career starts. Injuries held him to four games and two starts last season, as he had seven tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups in limited action.
His role as the elder statesman in a group of “young, hungry guys,” as Elliss put it, can’t be understated.
“The vet in the room is Aliki and he’s doing a great job leading,” Elliss said.
Vimahi, who describes himself as a pretty quiet individual, has taken on the challenge of being more vocal. Through the first two days of fall camp, he’s appreciated the effort he’s seen from the team.
“I‘ve seen a lot of grit these first two days, see guys getting after it,” Vimahi told reporters Thursday. “... We’ve got a lot to prove as a defensive line. We’re trying to get after it, trying to be the heartbeat of the team, set the precedence up front.”
Then there’s Vakalahi, a budding young star who will have more expected of him after he returned home from a Latter-day Saints mission prior to the 2024 season, and yet still managed to play in nine games and start three as a freshman.
“I‘ve seen a lot of grit these first two days, see guys getting after it. ... We’ve got a lot to prove as a defensive line. We’re trying to get after it, trying to be the heartbeat of the team, set the precedence up front.”
Utah defensive tackle Aliki Vimahi
“Dallas has stepped up in his leadership. He’s explosive. He’s bigger, still very explosive. I think he has a better understanding of the game, so he’ll be able to play faster than what he did — less thinking, just react,” Elliss said of Vakalahi, who had 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 2024.
“He’s hungry, and I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”
Lea’ea, the tallest of the defensive tackle group at 6-foot-5, played in six games last season and has stepped into a leadership role with the team.
“Jonah’s gained some good weight,” Elliss said of Lea’ea, who now weighs 271 pounds.
Who else will step up?
Beyond those three, the Utes are going to need a couple freshmen (or more) to become reliable options, like Vakalahi did last year.
Former Skyline High standout Karson Kaufusi joined the Utes in the spring and made a positive impression — he, too, was commended by coaches for putting on some additional weight during the offseason program.
Elliss also liked what he saw from fellow true freshmen Sepulona and Taulanga in how they approached offseason training, saying they have “a mental toughness to them already.”
“Our offseason program is not the easiest and a lot of guys come in (and) just doing the warm-ups are gassed, and they came in blind and doing things (that were asked of) them, not that they haven’t been worked and gassed a little bit, but what I like is their mental toughness to push through and make themselves better,” Elliss said.
“That’s a good trait to have, especially to have success up front, and something that I’m looking forward to see that translate into tough days out here in practice.”
Battle is another player to watch — he transferred to Utah from LSU after spending the spring with the SEC program.
Battle was a three-star prospect in the 2025 class and has four years of eligibility, though he came to Utah banged up and is rehabbing his way back to full health. Still, he’s made an impression.
“He’s explosive, he’s strong, all things that you want out of a defensive tackle,” Elliss said. “We’ll see how he continues to progress in his recovery, but right now, he’s doing some good things.”
Vimahi praised the work he’s seen from the freshmen, noting the “tremendous talent” they bring to Utah’s defensive front.
“The freshmen are coming along really well. My role is to help them learn the technique,” he said. “It’s my job as a leader to be able to help them sharpen their technique. Iron sharpens iron — of course, the best will play. But with competition, everybody gets better.”
For what it’s worth, Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley mentioned Sepulona, Taulanga and Battle when asked about the need to build depth at defensive tackle.
“Those bodies will help out a lot in the depth category,” Scalley said. “Now it’s just a matter of developing them and seeing who can play right away. The good thing is we’re not having to do much physically with them — their weight’s where it needs to be — it’s just learn the defense.”
With the Utes’ season opener four weeks away — Utah opens the year at UCLA on Aug. 30 — the clock is ticking to prove that the new veteran leaders at defensive tackle, and a talented crop of freshmen behind them, can create a solid group up front.
“I’ve seen a lot of paying attention to the details,” Vimahi said. “Our coaches, ever since winter conditioning, they’ve just harped on paying attention to the details ... whether it be touching our toes or explaining the right technique. Details, detail, details. That’s what’s going to set us apart.”
Category: General Sports
