USC adds Utah grad transfer Stevie Tu’ikolovatu to defensive line
USC has beefed up its beleaguered defensive line. Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, a graduate transfer from Utah, tweeted that he is joining USC.
Tu’ikolovatu, a 6-foot-1, 320-pound tackle, provides depth and experience to a unit that lacked both. Tu’ikolovatu had reportedly considered Alabama and Nebraska.
He appeared in all 13 of Utah's games last season and started twice. He recorded 29 tackles and two sacks and tied for the Pac-12 lead with four fumble recoveries.
USC linebacker Osa Masina tweeted, “We got a beast.”
USC’s defensive line was the biggest source of concern for Coach Clay Helton after spring practice. The unit lost five seniors and all three starters from 2015. Then Kenny Bigelow, the line’s most experienced member, tore a ligament in his knee in March. He is expected to miss at least half of the season.
Helton assessed the line as talented but young, and he expected it to improve throughout the season. But USC can’t afford a steep learning curve. The Trojans open against defending national champion Alabama on Sept. 3 and will play Stanford in the third week of the season. Both teams prefer to run the ball.
Tu’ikolovatu, who will turn 25 later this month, will be the oldest player on USC’s roster by more than a year.
Tu’ikolovatu joined Utah in 2009, when he took a redshirt year. He then took a three-season hiatus for a Mormon mission. He rejoined the team in 2013, which he sat out with a foot injury.
“Ready to get back to work, FIGHT ON!!” he wrote on Twitter.
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