Isaac Asiata: Leadership Will Determine Utes Success For 2019 Season

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Isaac Asiata joined Tom Hackett and Andy Phillips on the recent Special Forces Gang podcast and the boys discussed everything from why Asiata was recently cut from the Miami Dolphins to how to handle expectations for this 2019 Utah football season.

Asiata shared his story as to why he was cut from the Miami Dolphins Organization. He hurt a muscle in his back one day a few weeks ago when he was deadlifting during a workout. After seeing the trainers he went and got a second opinion and was told that he could return to full training in a matter of a week or two.

However, a day after Miami signed center Tony Adams, guard Kyle Fuller and former teammate and linebacker Nate Orchard, Asiata was told his time in Miami was coming to an end. Asiata will now wait until he is cleared by the trainers at Utah, once that is done he will be eligible to go workout for other NFL teams. He mentioned that a number of West Coast teams have interest in the big guard.

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— Special Forces Gang (@SFGksl) May 24, 2019

The Draft

Asiata shared his thoughts on the University of Utah’s recent draft class. He mentioned that Marquise Blair, Seattle’s second round pick, could go down as “one of the greats” by the time his career is all said and done.

The Cody Barton story is spectacular, a lower end recruit who looked out of sorts during his earlier times at Utah. As his career trickled on, Barton ended his senior year as one of the best linebackers in the Pac 12. He was taken with the 88th pick of the 2019 draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Cody Barton’s brother Jackson was also drafted, but had to wait until the seventh round to hear his name called by the Indianapolis Colts. Asiata told Hackett and Phillips that if Jackson is going to survive in the NFL he needs to develop a “stronger mindset.” One of the negatives with Jackson as he entered the draft was his mental strength, although, Asiata did mention how Jackson has all of the attributes to survive in the NFL, “he is big, strong and has incredibly long arms”.

Can we get a high 🖐?

(See what we did there 😉)

Read about our 5 Utes taken in the #NFLDraft: https://t.co/lSCCP980KO pic.twitter.com/dPEWKKoo6R

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 28, 2019

2019 Utah Football Season

Time is flying by, as we are now less than 100 days until the Utes face BYU in Provo. The boys discussed how head coach Kyle Whittingham will handle the seemingly high expectations for the 2019 season. Many Utah football fans are smelling the roses, hoping that the team can debut in the Rose Bowl. Expectations at Utah and specifically under Whittingham have never been higher, however, there is good reason for it.

Utah returns key starters on both sides of the ball with running back Zack Moss, quarterback Tyler Huntley, edge rusher Bradlee Anae, defensive tackle Leki Fotu, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and former cornerback now safety Julian Blackmon just to name a few.

100 days until we kick off another season of @Utah_Football! And the rematch! #goutes pic.twitter.com/Cw575dG0T0

— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) May 26, 2015

Asiata mentioned that he expects the season to “be better than the 2015 team,” a team that once found themselves as the third ranked team in the country after their 62-20 dominating win over the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.

The boys came to the conclusion that the leaders in 2019 will determine how far this team can go. More often than not, the leadership of any football team will allow the rest of the team to either flourish or flounder.

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