Arizona football's 'attack front' encourages defensive line to 'cause havoc in the backfield'

Among the minor tweaks made by Arizona's defense this spring is the mindset of the interior defensive linemen and edge rushers during every play.

UA defensive line coach Joe Seumalo, who played for late Arizona coaching icon Dick Tomey at Hawaii in 1985 and '86, is introducing "more of an attack front as opposed to sitting there and canceling or holding gaps," he said. 

"The only thing that has changed is the mindset," Seumalo added. "We want to play on their side of the ball. ... Path with least resistance and just go."

Seumalo has "essentially taken all the thinking out of a play," Arizona junior defensive lineman Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei said.

"He just wants us to play football, get up field, cause havoc and if you mess up, you mess up," Uiagalelei said. "Just get behind the line of scrimmage and cause havoc in the backfield."

Added redshirt freshman edge rusher Dominic Lolesio: "It allows us to play our game and elevate by not thinking as much, we're just going. That's the biggest difference that I've seen." 

So, what are the benefits of an ultra-aggressive defensive line, especially when it could lead to reckless mistakes resulting in chunk plays instead of limiting yards or stopping opponents at the line of scrimmage? 

"The benefit is you force the offense to tighten their splits. 'I gotta double him.' If you're playing on their side of the ball, two things will occur: number one, you'll make the play in the backfield and number two, you will get two guys to block you," Seumalo said. "If you're on that side of the ball, it's more defined with linebackers coming down hill and they know what's going on." 

Seumalo is teaching Arizona's defensive line to be fierce, but "to be decisive." Being assertive will receive the Seumalo stamp of approval. 

"If you're in the A gap, be vertical in the A gap. Again, I'm not a big gap guy, I'm a big, 'Go! And just play in that area. That area between guard and center or guard and tackle, and be able to play on that side of the ball.' Coaches talk about playing 2 yards on that side of the ball. I don't have 2 yards, just rush the passer, but at the same time, defend the run," Seumalo said. "For me, that's all I've ever been. We'll see."

Time will tell if Seumalo's teachings will resonate with Arizona's defensive line, which is a position group that lost eight scholarship players between the NFL Draft and the transfer portal. The only returning starter on Arizona’s defensive line is Bill Norton, the 6-6, 325-pound graduate nose tackle, who transferred from Georgia to the UA last spring and played an integral role in occupying blockers and space to clog up the line of scrimmage and stop the run, which significantly improved between the 2022 and '23 seasons. 

"Bill brings experience. He brings knowledge and he's one of those guys that has that innate ability to line up and execute," Seumalo said. 

Uiagalelei played 367 snaps as a rotational player last season and will now have a larger role as an edge rusher and interior defensive lineman with a 6-4, 285-pound frame this season. Uiagalelei "learned a lot" from former team sacks leader in Taylor Upshaw, who "taught me a lot as an edge rusher, as a defensive end," Uiagalelei said.  

"He's strong, smart and savvy," Seumalo said of Uiagalelei. "He's got that football IQ, knows where to line up, understands how to align so he can execute, because you have those players who are developmental players and conscious players. Sometimes guys do things so right that they're wrong. He's one of those guys that has that innate ability to play."

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At Arizona, Uiagalelei can live up to his name Ta'ita'i (pronounced tah-ee, tah-ee), which means "leader," a name that was given to him by his mother and grandmother. Ta'ita'i, who starred at Mater Dei High School, is one of several Uiagalelei family members to carve out an impressive football career. The Uiagaleleis hail from a Polynesian background are well-known, especially in Southern California. Arizona's Uiagalelei is cousins with former five-star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who is now at Florida State after one season at Oregon State. The Uiagalelei cousins shared the field together when Arizona beat 11th-ranked Oregon State in Tucson.

"It was interesting. It was fun. It was cool to see someone with my last name back there," said Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, who is also cousins with Oregon star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei. "That was cool competing with him, share some plays."

Besides the two projected starters in Norton and Uiagalelei, most of Arizona's defensive line either had minimal roles last season or transferred in. 

"You've got some guys who've played real minutes from last year. Obviously they were in the starting rotation and then you've got some other guys who've taken some reps there," Seumalo said. "We definitely have some experience. I'm really happy with the group. I think they did a nice job in recruiting."

Among the recruits left behind include edge rusher Sterling Lane II and former Chandler defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson, two members of Arizona's 2022 recruiting class now entering their third season with the program — and hopeful to finally become mainstays in the defense. Former junior-college transfer Keanu Mailoto is also contending for a starting spot.  

"I love Zay," Seumalo said of Johnson. "Zay knows how to play on the vertical side and get on that side of the ball. Everyone has been a pleasant surprise, but for me, a couple plays I saw early on with him, like, 'OK, he gets it.'" 

One of the new edge rushers added is San Jose State transfer and All-Mountain West selection Tre Smith, a Phoenix-area native who led the Spartans in sacks last season. Seumalo called Smith "a scary dude" on Tuesday.

"He's exactly who I thought he was going to be when he came here," said Seumalo, who's currently living with Tomey's former defensive coordinator at Arizona, Rich Ellerson, until he finds a home in Tucson. 

Uiagalelei said the San Jose State transfer is "a really good football player."

"He works incredibly hard, he's very smart and I love playing next to him," Uiagalelei said.

While Arizona's defensive line has promising pieces and it added Smith, the "relentless" UC Davis defensive tackle Chubba Ma'ae and Syracuse defensive lineman Kevon Darton, who will arrive this summer, Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan said last week the program has about 14 scholarship spots open — one or a few will conceivably go to walk-ons.

With the transfer portal officially opening up for business on Tuesday, "we'll come together as a staff and see what's going on in that portal, because you never know."

"Guys show up, guys leave," Seumalo said. 

Extra points

• Uiagalelei, on Brennan: "Very good man. Enjoyable person to talk to. You can talk to him about anything. He's very easy to talk to."
• Lolesio, on playing fourth-quarter snaps in Arizona's walk-off win over Colorado in Boulder: "It was actually a really fun experience. I didn't know I was going to be thrown in the fourth quarter. It was a tied game, so it was a critical moment. But they trusted me, so I did everything I could to make tackles and stuff like that."  
• ESPN rated Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita as the fifth-best quarterback entering the upcoming college football season. Fifita was ranked behind Carson Beck (Georgia), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Quinn Ewers (Texas) and Jalen Milroe (Alabama).