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.”
Seahawks rookie Sataoa Laumea listens to instructions from coach Scott Huff during individual drills at rookie minicamp.
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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.
