BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — If it takes one to know one, a 300-plus pound nose tackle, Wisconsin's Olive Sagapolu is in good company with Domata Peko, who just happens to be family and an 11-year vet of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Before reporting to training camp, Sagapolu got some sage advice from his uncle.
"He told me, 'Play fast. Be humble about it. Always put the Lord first and have some fun this year,'" explained the 6-foot-2, 345-pound Sagapolu, who appeared in all 13 games last season and started four times as a true freshman. "He said that he'll be watching me."
Sagapolu has likewise followed the pro career of Peko, a fourth-round draft pick out of Michigan State. The 6-3, 325-pound Peko, who was raised in Pago Pago, American Samoa, has started 140 of 155 games for the Bengals. That included 101 straight.
Peko's older brother also played at Michigan State. Tupe Peko went on to start nine games at offensive guard over three years (27 games) with the Indianapolis Colts. In 2006, he was in camp with the Green Bay Packers but he was released before the start of the regular season.
Besides his uncles, Sagapolu's family ties to the NFL extend to a cousin — Kyle Peko, who's trying to make the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. Last season, Peko started on the defensive line for Oregon State's first-year head coach, Gary Andersen.
Sagapolu was originally recruited to Wisconsin by Andersen. Although Andersen left for the Beavers, Sagapolu elected to stay with the Badgers because of his comfort level with the new staff, namely head coach Paul Chryst and assistant Inoke Breckterfield.
In addition, Sagapolu's mom, Martina, constantly reminded her son during the recruiting process that he was committing to a school — not just a football program — and that his academic commitment was far more important to his future than anything else. He didn't need much convincing.
What a difference a year makes, though.
At this time last August, Sagapolu admitted, "I was lost. I was still trying to understand the defense and the different techniques that I could apply to the game. This year, I'm a lot more comfortable in the position. I know what to do in certain situations and how to position my body."
As an incoming freshman, Sagapolu was listed at 332 pounds. But he was carrying around 340 on his 6-2 frame when he got his first starting assignment against Iowa in the Big Ten opener. Sagapolu was sandwiched between a couple of more experienced linemen, Chikwe Obasih and Arthur Goldberg.
"I learned a lot from last year," he said. "I learned how to be quicker with my first step and to be sudden and powerful off my read. I'm still trying to take up as many guys (offensive linemen) as I can in the middle, helping the linebacker corps make plays in the backfield, and I'm still having fun with it."
Wisconsin's new defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox, has given Sagapolu a little more freedom to move around. And Sagapolu has taken that to heart along with the other nose tackles: redshirt sophomore Jeremy Patterson (6-3, 350) and true freshman Garrett Rand (6-2, 274).
"We're all learning from each other and trying to take the little things from Coach Inoke (Breckterfield) and apply it," Sagapolu said. "I'd say Garrett is learning a lot more quickly than I did and getting a lot more reps. He's making a lot of progress in his first camp."
Former UW defensive lineman Pat Muldoon, a four-year letterwinner, is helping Breckterfield with the D-line as a graduate assistant. He has lost over 50 pounds (and his mop of hair) from his playing days. Also on staff as a student assistant is the aforementioned Goldberg, who started 14 games the past two seasons.
Goldberg, who would have been a senior, gave up football following a string of head injuries.
"It was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made in my life," said Goldberg, a native of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. "But a lot of factors went into it — my family and, most importantly, my health. It was the right way for me to go and everybody understands that.
"I just had health concerns going forward with the number of concussions that I've had and just how much longer it would take for me to come back from each one of them. It was another month longer. Or another week longer."
The transition from player to spectator/coach as gone about as smoothly as one could hope.
"I've come to grips with it a long time ago and now I can just focus on helping the team," said Goldberg, who has lost 35 pounds since the end of last season. "I'm enjoying myself. But sometimes I find myself swearing, like I'm a player again, heckling the quarterback."
Goldberg will graduate in December. Until then, he will "test the waters" of the coaching profession. It keeps him close to the game, close to friends. He had been rooming with Vince Biegel and he's now sharing a house with Hayden Biegel, who also gave up the sport because of health concerns.
"Arthur Goldberg definitely helped me last year," Sagapolu said. "He taught me where my first step should be, where my hands should be. He taught me how to be physical. I really appreciate all he has done for me and I've been trying to learn from him by picking his brain."
Before the start of summer workouts, Sagapolu went home to visit his mom. Except his mailing address had changed again. While attending powerhouse Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California), where he was also a member of the cheerleading team as a senior, he lived in Huntington Beach.
Home is now Ewa Beach, Hawaii. He's less than an hour from Honolulu and about 15 minutes from the home of UW teammate Micah Kapoi, a redshirt sophomore guard from Kapolei. "It's very different from here (Madison)," Sagapolu understated. "You get that ocean breeze. I love the ocean."
He'd love to be able to surf. "But I can never find a board big enough to hold me up," Sagapolu said with a grin. "But I do 'Man Surf.' A lot of people know it as body surfing."
A lot of football people know it as playing nose tackle, a "Man Job." Just ask his uncle.
