SDSU’s Gentle Big Bear is Going Home to Growl : Sagapolutele Catches Fire at Defensive Tackle After His Aztec Coaches Put a Torch Under Him

From his 6-foot-5, 280-pound frame to his amicable manner to hands that are almost baby-soft, San Diego State defensive tackle Pio Sagapolutele appears the quintessential gentle giant.

On the field, in full football gear, he towers above most other players. He is the one the other team would be least likely to tangle with if given a choice.

Off the field and out of his uniform, Sagapolutele appears different. He still is as big and strong, but stripped of that equipment, his easy-going manner dominates. Substance over size.

“His personalty is kind of a big old happy bear,” said SDSU Coach Al Luginbill, whose description lacked only the name “Teddy.”

Yet there is another side to Sagapolutele, one Luginbill particularly values as a football coach. This Sagapolutele is a different kind of bear.

“That bear can be extremely aggressive and extremely mean when he cranks it down and gets after it,” Luginbill said.

This is the Sagapolutele who took glee in sacking Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell twice last week. The same one who looks forward to causing more problems Saturday night when he returns home to Honolulu to play Hawaii and chase his former teammate at Marryknoll High School, quarterback Garrett Gabriel.

“He knows I’m going after him just like I did in high school,” Sagapolutele said. “I used to cheap shot him all the time in practice.”

Sagapolutele allows a light, mischievous smile when he says this. Even when talking bad, Sagapolutele is acting good.

“I am not the kind of football player that says a lot of stuff,” Sagapolutele said. “I just go out and play the game. I do what I have to do. I usually take that first blow to see how weak or how strong my opponent is and then take off from there.”

Sagapolutele’s personality, combined with his physical ability, is what makes him a challenging project for Luginbill and his staff. Bringing out the grizzly in Sagapolutele on every down has not always been easy.

Part of the problem is motivation.

Sagapolutele has never been the most dedicated player. He had a reputation for giving less than his best in practice. Earlier in the season, Sagapolutele lost his starting job for two games after a poor showing in the opener against Air Force.

After four games, Sagapolutele has eight tackles (four unassisted), one tackle for a loss and two sacks.

“He is not close to where he could be,” Luginbill said. “But he has gotten better and better each week, and that is all I can ask of him. He has unlimited potential. He could be one of the dominant big men in the country if he decides that is what he wants to do.

“Great players have God-given talent, plus an intensity level that is so great you just can’t block them out.”

Gradually, Sagapolutele is beginning to meet what is expected of him. This week, he has a shoulder bruise that might have limited him in practice, but instead, coaches are having trouble keeping him out.

“That is a big change,” said defensive line coach Ed Schmidt. “He doesn’t try to get out of sprints or anything in practice anymore. He does what the rest of the team does, and he does it well.”

Part of the problem is time.

Sagapolutele, a junior, lost his freshman season because he failed to meet the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s freshman eligibility requirements. Circumstance then forced him into the starting lineup last year with little preparation.

The Aztecs were desperate for help on defense, and Sagapolutele was their biggest lineman. Despite missing football his freshman year, Sagapolutele was starting by the third game.

“We threw him in there because we didn’t have anybody else,” Schmidt said. “It was on-the-job training.”

Sagapolutele had to sit out his freshman season because he did not receive a high enough standardized test score to meet NCAA requirements. Luginbill said Sagapolutele had the most difficulty with the verbal section of the examination, and that trouble was understandable.

Sagapolutele (pronounced SAH-gah-POH-luh-tell-ee) was born on the American Samoan island of Ilile, the middle of 11 children. His family moved to Honolulu when he was an infant. Samoan was spoken in the home; English was a second language.

When Sagapolutele was a senior in high school, his father was elected to succeed his grandfather as the family chief, and his parents moved back to Ilile. Sagapolutele remained in Honolulu with relatives.

He has not seen his parents much since his father took over as chief of the family--a group Sagapolutele estimates at about 2,000. His parents will be in Aloha Stadium Saturday night to see him play for the first time in college.

But this game will have more than family pride at stake. The Warrior Rainbows (4-1, 2-1 in WAC) are tied for 20th in the United Press International poll with Florida State, their first Top 20 ranking since 1981. The Aztecs (1-2-1, 1-1) are coming off a 38-27 victory at Utah, their first under Luginbill, and have had reasonable success in Hawaii. SDSU has won two and tied two of its past five games in Honolulu.

“It will be great to go back and see all my family again,” Sagapolutele said. “I know there are a lot of Hawaii fans there, but a lot of my friends said they will be rooting for me anyway.”

For a time after last season, there was a question whether Sagapolutele would be making the trip back to Hawaii as an Aztec.

He was upset by the firing of Denny Stolz as coach and the initial decision not to retain assistant Ulima Afoa.

Afoa was the coach who recruited Sagapolutele out of high school, and Sagapolutele said the two had grown close because of their shared Samoan heritage. He considered transferring.

Both said Afoa urged Sagapolutele to remain at SDSU, but it was not until Afoa was rehired by Luginbill about six weeks after he was originally let go that Sagapolutele said he was convinced to stay.

“I wasn’t happy,” Sagapolutele said. “I talked with the coaches at Washington. But I realized I would have to go out and prove myself all over again. Then when Coach Afoa got hired, I felt much better about the program. I decided I might as well finish my career at San Diego State.”

To do that, Sagapolutele has had to make some adjustments. Luginbill has demanded changes from his “big old happy bear.” The transition has not always been smooth.

Sagapolutele was the first player to run afoul of Luginbill’s edict against unnecessary penalties.

When Sagapolutele was called for a personal foul late in the third quarter of a 28-25 loss to UCLA Sept. 16, he was pulled from the game and confronted on the sideline by an angry Luginbill. The Bruins went on to score a touchdown.

“He was trying to yell at me, but I walked away so he didn’t get the chance,” Sagapolutele said. “I thought I would be out for just one play.”

Instead, Luginbill benched him for the rest of the game.

“That penalty hurt,” Luginbill said. “He was totally dominating the line of scrimmage. They never did block him.”

Through that and other actions, Luginbill is making an impression.

“They have made the point that if I don’t go hard on every play, there is always somebody else behind me wanting to play,” Sagapolutele said. “They have made me work extra hard to get back to No. 1. Now I realize what I have got to do. They have taken that point and driven it into my mind.”