'Versatile, Competitive' Sataoa Laumea Ready to Battle For Early Snaps With Seattle Seahawks

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Prior to the start of the 2022 season, assistant head coach Jim Harding and the Utah Utes thought they had their starting offensive line set in stone gearing up for a tough season opener against the Florida Gators.

But with less than a week before the Utes hit the road to battle the Gators in Gainesville at "The Swamp," Harding decided to make a last minute switcheroo. After starting the previous two seasons at right guard and staying at that position throughout training camp, he opted to slide All-Pac 12 performer Sataoa Laumea outside to right tackle, giving him what the coach looks back on as a "baptism by fire" against an SEC blue blood program.

Utah wound up losing a tightly-contested 29-26 road tilt to Florida, but Laumea performed well under difficult circumstances, allowing two pressures the entire game in defeat. Two years later, after spending his final two collegiate seasons at tackle and making steady improvements along the way, the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and Harding expects his versatility and high football acumen will give him a great chance at success with his new team.

"He became a student of the game," Harding said of Laumea during an interview with Locked On Seahawks. "He relied on a lot of natural ability early on in his career. And, obviously, he was successful doing that. But I think as he matured through the program, understood what we were trying to do offensively, what defenses were trying to do to us, I think that is where his game really evolved and where he improved in his time here."

Throughout his 15 year tenure with the Utes, Harding has typically relied on upperclassmen as the backbone of his offensive line, developing plenty of NFL talent. While Broncos tackle Garrett Bolles has been his most successful former player in the league, he has had eight former linemen drafted by NFL teams, and the majority of those players had to wait their turn before cracking the lineup.

However, Laumea proved to be an exception to the rule and after redshirting in 2019, he vaulted into the starting lineup at right guard as a redshirt freshman during a COVID-shortened 2020 season and never looked back. Over the course of his final four seasons at Utah, he logged over 3,000 snaps, including 1,284 snaps at right guard and 1,726 snaps at right tackle, starting a remarkable 44 consecutive games for the program.

Wired differently than most players with a burning desire to be great and an unbridled love for the game, Harding and head coach Kyle Whittingham considered playing Laumea as a true freshman after he impressed on the scout team offense against the Utes starting defensive line. Humble and hungry, he arrived back on campus in 2020 on a mission and wasted little time earning a starting role that he wouldn't relinquish.

"This kid was very much a sponge when he arrived. He wanted to learn technique, fundamentals, got in the playbook, things like that," Harding explained. "Really, his ability to come in, learn the offense, focus on the technique and fundamentals, and really his desire to be great early, allowed him to play early here at Utah."

Earning All-Pac 12 distinction in all four of his seasons as a starter, including a First-Team selection in 2022, per Pro Football Focus charting, Laumea didn't allow any sacks as a senior after giving up four in the season prior. While he did give up 29 pressures at right tackle, that number improved slightly from his first season at the right bookend spot, and he graded out well as a run blocker with a solid 68.7 grade in that category.

Looking at his best fit in Seattle, Harding expects Laumea to move back inside to guard, where his movement skills and scheme flexibility blocking in gap and zone concepts should be maximized as a puller and climbing to the second level off combo blocks. Harding believes his extensive experience playing tackle the past two years will help him most in pass protection against interior defenders in the league who "have moves, have the ability to attack edges," something far fewer college players bring to the table.

With rookie minicamp kicking off on Friday, as Harding predicted, Laumea saw the bulk of his snaps in his Seahawks practice debut back inside, though he did so at left guard, a position he never played at Utah, opposite of third-round pick Christian Haynes and sixth-round pick Michael Jerrell. With the presence of veteran Laken Tomlinson on the left side, once OTAs begin next week, he will be given time to develop at a new position and there won't be pressure on him to be ready to play right away.

Though expectations may be lower for him as a day three selection, however, if Laumea's past is any indication, he's a quick study who won't have any trouble grasping a new position and will be looking to vie for snaps earlier than anticipated. Only so much can be gleaned from non-padded practices without any actual blocking happening, but he looked comfortable with his footwork on the left side in Friday's session and demonstrated quick feet and explosiveness during drills.

Coming from a family with nine siblings where fierce battles for breakfast ensued every morning, Laumea certainly isn't going to be intimidated by competition and will embrace the opportunity handling his business like a 10-year veteran. While he may be soft spoken, his emotion and passion for the game couldn't be more louder between the lines and Harding expects nothing less than his former pupil making a significant impact early in uniform and in the community for the Seahawks.

"He is going to do everything he can to help not only himself at that level, and I get that it's a different level in the NFL, but he's gonna do everything he can to help the team. He's going to represent the organization the right way. He might be one of my favorite kids I've ever coached. I think you guys are going to be very happy with what you got not only what you see on the field, but also off the field."