Inside the Huddle: Sagapolu ready to hit high notes against BYU
September 16, 2017 | Football, Mike Lucas
Badgers players and coaches of Polynesian heritage familiar with, eager to play Cougars
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — It's all about that base (defense) or that bass (note) for Wisconsin's ukulele-playing nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, who uses music to relieve stress building up, football-related or otherwise.
"The ukulele is more of a calming thing," said Sagapolu, a 346-pound junior from American Samoa. "I'll sit down on my porch in front of my house and play 30 to 45 minutes. It's just relaxing … tension relief.
"You can't be so focused on football or you'll probably go crazy. I try to balance it out a little bit. I like playing to just kind of clear my head in a way."
The island music coming from the porch has been known to attract strangers. Once they get over the shock of seeing such a huge person strumming the strings so delicately, they warm to him.
"A couple of people have come up to me and said, 'Wow, you're really good,'" said Sagapolu, who began playing the ukulele when he was about 6 years old.
"I keep thinking I can sing, too. But I'm really not a good singer."
Ukulele, cheerleading & acrobats Olive Sagapolu looks the part, but he's far from a typical defensive lineman.
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 9, 2017
You won't necessarily find him singing the praises of spread offenses. Sagapolu is a fixture in the Badgers' base defense (three down linemen). But he's usually replaced in the nickel package (five defensive backs).
That was the case against Utah State and Florida Atlantic. Both were up-tempo, no-huddle teams that minimized the time between snaps and all but eliminated any defensive substitutions.
"Although I'm not taking reps in the game, I'm still trying to take mental reps (on the sideline)," said Sagapolu, who has yet to record his first tackle, always a deceiving stat for his position.
"And whenever I don't get in too much, I go to the weight room and do some extra stuff. So even though I may not be getting too many reps on the field, I'm trying to keep my cardio up and trying to keep my strength up in-season."
BYU offers a more familiar challenge for the Badgers.
"They're sort of like our offense, more pro style," said Sagapolu, relishing the potential for more playing time. "They like to run the ball and that's where I kind of come in. I'm looking forward to it."
Sagapolu's familiarity with the Cougars is limited. "I knew a couple of people but they've gone on their (church) missions," he said. "I do know they have a lot of Polynesians (over 40 on the roster)."
He also knows BYU has a veteran O-line (99 combined starts as a unit). "Their center is very physical," he said, "and the middle three have a good majority of game experience."
Tejan Koroma, a 6-foot, 290-pound senior and team captain, is the center. He has 41 career starts. The guards are also seniors: Keyan Norman (6-3, 305) and Tuni Kanuch (6-3, 320).
For a second consecutive game, the Badgers will be without their most experience defensive lineman, Chikwe Obasih (42 games, 31 starts), who's still rehabbing from an injury.
"It's definitely tough seeing a senior injured," said Sagapolu. "But we're still playing for Chikwe. He's still part of the group and we love having him around. We can't wait for him to get back playing."
Wisconsin and BYU meet for the third time on Saturday Last meeting was in 2013 when a guy by the name of James White scored 3 TDs. #TBT
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 14, 2017
READY WHEN NEEDED
Left, right. Right, left. Micah Kapoi's marching orders are basically the same on either side of the football, whether he's the starter at left guard or the backup at right guard. Or vice versa.
"At this point, it's pretty seamless," he said of the transition from one side to the other. "I feel like going through it the last three years has been beneficial when I need to go back and forth."
In the season opener against Utah State, Kapoi made his ninth career start at left guard. When Beau Benzschawel was injured in the first half against Florida Atlantic, Kapoi replaced him at right guard.
"Playing on both sides is actually not as hard right now," said Kapoi, who has four starts on the right side. "Getting reps at both during practice and seeing it from both sides is big.
"Rudy preaches 'Next man up' and everybody has to be ready."
Rudy is Joe Rudolph, the offensive coordinator and O-line coach.
"Just having the knowledge of what is going to happen and when it's going to happen helps out a lot," said Kapoi, who has appeared in 27 career games. "My role does keep changing."
And you won't hear any complaints from Kapoi, a junior from Hawaii. Since cutting his weight from 336 to 320, he said, "It's a lot easier to move around than years past. I'm more flexible."
Flexible is the operative word for the offensive line. Benzschawel is a converted tackle, David Edwards is a converted tight end. Meanwhile, Michael Deiter has started at center, guard and tackle.
BYU's front seven will present a physical challenge more akin to what they're accustomed to.
"They have big guys in there, bigger than what we've seen in weeks past," Kapoi said. "They cater more to Big Ten play. It's going to be good for us (in advance of the league season)."
The Badgers don't have a senior offensive lineman on the team. By sharp contrast, the average age of BYU's roster is 21.4 years, including 32 married players, six of whom have a child.
"Physically," Kapoi noted, "they've had an extra two years to develop."
Nearly 64 percent of the BYU players on the current roster have served an LDS mission.
"You can see it (on film) compared to the teams we played the last two weeks," said Kapoi. "You can see the physical maturity. Even the younger eligibility guys are more advanced than most."
Noise ?? Speed ???? Strategy ?&?? Varsity Magazine takes you into the heart of the action for a @BadgerFootball game.
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) September 13, 2017
COACHES CORNER: INOKE BRECKTERFIELD
"There are things to clean up, but they're playing hard and they're playing fast. I like where they're at," Breckterfield said of his defensive line after two games against spread attacks.
"The play selection is a lot different and the ball is out a lot quicker (with spread quarterbacks). But our preparation is not any different, spread or not, we're running to the ball anyway.
"Spread teams are just trying to test your cardio. They're not really trying to test your technique or anything. They want to get the big boys up front winded and then try and run the ball down your throat.
"BYU is a mix. They want to go 1-back — stuff that we see — and they'll slow it down a little bit. And they want to go 2-back, and their 2-back stuff is comparable to what we do.
"We have to start fast and try to match their intensity and see if up front we can impact the game. They'll play hard, they'll play spirited, they'll play tough if they're a reflection of their head coach."
Breckterfield is a close friend of BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, a former Cougars fullback.
"I've known him since growing up in Hawaii," said Breckterfield, who's from Kaneche; Sitake is from Laie. "He's a good leader, a good motivator, a good recruiter and a good defensive mind.
"It's easy for the guys to follow him, he's that type of coach and leader. He was the defensive coordinator at Utah when they had their best teams. The number one thing with Kalani is they will play hard. I know that going in."
Breckterfield has many other friends on the BYU staff, including his cousin, Jack Damuni, who's the director of player personnel for the Cougars. "They'll be hyped," he said, "and they'll come out firing."
GETTING TO KNOW NO. 97 ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK
"I had a little bit of the jitters going into it," Loudermilk said of his college debut against Utah State. "But once I got on the field, everything was fine. Everything I had practiced kind of took over."
Loudermilk, a 6-foot-7, 306-pound redshirt freshman, had UW's only sack in the opener.
"It was exciting — I can't really explain it — but it was just an exciting moment," he said. "I remember the guard came down on me and I got a little push, a boost from behind from Garret Dooley.
"I swam (technique) over the guard and the quarterback was just right there."
"There will be a lot of energy in that stadium and I think it's [the test] this team needs" Coach Chryst previews Saturday's game at BYU
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 14, 2017
With Obasih sidelined, Loudermilk understands that more is expected of him.
"I've always kind of felt that urgency to be ready," he said. "But now I feel like I need to be even more ready.
"I'm hoping Chikwe can recover as fast as possible so he can get back out there. I love watching him play. Until he gets back, if I have to play a bigger role, I'll do the best I can."
Because he played 8-man football in high school, he's adjusting to a different game, especially in dealing with five offensive linemen instead of just three. The blocking schemes are far different.
"The open space is the biggest thing — chasing down some runs, chasing down the QB (in the 8-man game)," said Loudermilk, who's from Howard, Kansas. "But I like this game better.
"There's a lot more to it, there's a lot more to learn. In high school, it was pretty much line up and just go for it. Here you have different schemes that you have to learn and I really enjoy that."
Not many offensive linemen could match Loudermilk's size and strength as a prep.
"I went against a center one time and he was maybe 150 or 160 pounds," he said. "And I went against someone close to 300. But he wasn't a big guy; he was shorter and rounder.
"There was a wide range (of opponents), but mostly people barely scratching 200 pounds."
So how did that 150-pound center handle Loudermilk's charge?
"Not very well," he said with a grin. "I would fire out and just push him back as far as possible. That's just how it was in high school. There weren't a whole lot of bigger people."
Asked about Loudermilk, Breckterfield also grinned and said, "He's still learning, he's a puppy. I'm just trying to feed him reps and let him find his footing and get more comfortable out there on game day."
Advice from @_TJWatt and @VinceBiegel has stuck with Garret Dooley and shaped his mindset. What did they tell him?
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 13, 2017
FIRST AND 10: BYU
- QB Tanner Mangum (10-6 as starter) injured his ankle on BYU's final drive last week. He was Taysom Hill's understudy in '16. Starred as frosh (3,377 yards, 23 TDs) after replacing injured Hill.
- Beau Hoge (6-1, 208), son of former NFL running back Merrill Hoge (Steelers, Bears), looms as the starter if Mangum can't go. Redshirted last year. Played sparingly in 2015 (10 of 17 for 137 yards).
- Hoge's backup would be Koy Detmer, Jr., who also redshirted last year. Nephew of BYU offensive coordinator Ty Detmer, 1990 Heisman winner, ex-Packer caddy to Brett Favre.
- Cougars miss all-time leading rusher Jamaal Williams, now with the Pack. Through three games, 11 different ball-carriers have combined for 229 yards. UW's Jonathan Taylor had 223 last Saturday.
- UW will be first Big Ten team to play in LaVell Edwards Stadium, named after Hall of Fame coach who passed away last December. Penn State visited Provo in 1992 as independent.
- Family tree: Eight players have fathers who played for BYU. There are six sets of brothers on roster. Plus 20 former Cougars players are on football and athletic administration staff.
- Defensive end Corbin Kaufusi (6-9, 285) has quit the BYU basketball team to focus on football (blocked two kicks last year). Foul-prone center started 36 of 86 games. Averaged 14 minutes in hoops.
- Cougars defense has allowed only one touchdown pass: a 4-yard completion from Jalani Eason to Darnell Evans in season-opening win over Portland State.
- BYU freshman running back Ula Tolutau (6-1, 250) was originally a member of Gary Andersen's 2014 recruiting class at Wisconsin. Served two-year mission in Bakersfield, California.
- Provo, which is about 45 miles from Salt Lake City, has an altitude of 4,550, less than Denver (5,280), but higher than Madison (863).
NOTE TO QUOTE
BYU safety Micah Hannemann (No. 7) has been ejected for targeting in two of the last three games that he has played. He was flagged in the second half against Wyoming in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl and missed the first half of the 2017 opener against Portland State. And he was flagged again in the second half of the LSU game (September 2) for hitting tailback Derrius Grice with the crown of his helmet, which meant that he had to miss the first half of the Utah game. He didn't play in the second half, either. But he will start against the Badgers.
QUOTE TO NOTE
On the impact of Jonathan Taylor's early touchdown runs (64 and 29 yards) against Florida Atlantic, UW outside linebacker Garret Dooley said, "The big plays on offense are something that gives our defense the spark to go out there and get a three-and-out or a turnover, to get the ball back to the offense so they can do the same thing over again."
