Aaitui looms large in Rebels’ 2009 defensive scheme

Even on the part of the practice field where the big men of UNLV's offensive and defensive lines are running spring drills, Isaako Aaitui stands out without even hitting anyone.

At an intimidating 6 feet 3 inches and 300 pounds -- but with surprising speed -- Aaitui looks as if he should be on an NFL practice field, not at Rebel Park where he outweighs fellow starting defensive end Preston Brooks by 45 pounds.

Looking out of place isn't unusual for Aaitui.

After he left Western Samoa for American Samoa before his senior year of high school, football coaches at Faga'itua High School looked at Aaitui and couldn't wait to get him on the field. It didn't matter that rugby was his sport, not football -- a game he barely watched on television.

Aaitui was told to "look for the guy who's throwing the ball," and he ferociously went after quarterbacks with rugby-style clothesline tackles. Running backs stepped out of the way as Aaitui helped win the island championship.

"People were scared to block him," said UNLV defensive end Daniel Mareko, who also played at Faga'itua.

But no matter how many blockers jumped out of the way or how many quarterbacks went down, Aaitui didn't consider playing college football. The sport was foreign, and American Samoa might as well have been in another galaxy as far as many college recruiters were concerned.

"I just wanted to graduate high school and look for a job from there," Aaitui said. "I figured I'd stay in Samoa."

Only New Mexico and UNLV visited the South Pacific island that recruiting season. Rebels coach Mike Sanford took interior offensive line coach Keith Uperesa with him in December 2005, stopping in Honolulu before catching a 51/2-hour connecting flight to Pago Pago.

The coaches arrived on a Thursday, visited all six schools the next day, had to kill a day Saturday because there were no outbound flights, then flew back Sunday.

Sanford and Uperesa watched videotape, spoke to Faga'itua coach Suaese Taase -- who played for Uperesa at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah -- and met Aaitui. They saw a player with raw ability and vast potential, who Sanford said "looked like a young Junior Seau."

"He was just a great-looking guy," Sanford said. "And on tape, he didn't know what he was doing, but he did it with such great athletic ability. He didn't understand the difference between football and rugby. He wasn't sure on a fumble if he needed to pick it up and start passing."

Aaitui, who runs the 40-yard dash in five seconds, began to fulfill his promise last season when he started nine games and made a team-high seven tackles for loss and tied for a team-leading two sacks.

This spring he again is No. 1 at defensive end, and coaches are hopeful Aaitui's junior season this fall will be an even greater step up. Defensive line coach Andre Patterson is giving Aaitui extra responsibilities, playing him inside more often this spring in hopes he can play tackle as well as end.

"He's picking it up," Patterson said. "He's feeling more natural."

Aaitui's time at UNLV has not been easy. He is so homesick that even after nearly three years, he still won't call home for fear it would be too emotionally draining to hear those far-away voices.

That sadness added to the difficult transition for Aaitui, who didn't speak much English when he arrived in Las Vegas. He usually said only "Yes, Coach" or "No, Coach," when asked a question.

Teammates got into stances and acted out plays to show Aaitui how they were run.

"Everything was difficult for me when I first got here," Aaitui said.

The transition to an American classroom might have been toughest for Aaitui, whose 2.10 grade-point average is slightly above the NCAA-minimum 2.0 to remain eligible.

When they arrived, Mareko took many of the same classes with Aaitui to help him understand what was being taught.

Mareko no longer schedules the same classes, but academics remain a struggle even though Aaitui's English-speaking skills have improved dramatically. Samoan language structure is different, and some professors assign essays that are especially challenging. UNLV also requires three English classes -- two composition courses and one in world literature.

Aaitui, who is majoring in university studies with the emphasis on sociology and physical education, meets weekly with a learning specialist and is part of an academic group that gathers at 7:30 a.m. every Monday. Once a week he also meets with Jason Linders, UNLV's assistant director of student-athlete academic services.

"He's always my biggest concern," Linders said.

Linders, however, is hopeful Aaitui will remain eligible, and points out he will finish this semester with 73 of the necessary 124 units to graduate.

"Most of the kids from back home never achieve third year in college," Aaitui said. "I always think about that. That's why I've got to keep it up and work hard."

This summer won't be a breeze. To offset an engineering course and an upper-level sociology class, Linders has scheduled Aaitui to take history of rock music.

"When he first got here, he was struggling for everything," Linders said. "He would come to me for help the day before a paper was due. He's gotten better at that."

If Aaitui remains eligible, he will be an important player next season. He no longer has to watch teammates demonstrate plays or give coaches two-word answers.

Aaitui speaks up and asks detailed questions about different plays, and spring drills are providing insight into what coaches hope to see next season.

"His football savvy is starting to come out," Patterson said. "We've seen him make some plays where he's expecting stuff to happen before they happen.

"It's hard for the tight end to be able to handle him one on one because he's 300 pounds to this guy who weighs 265. He's going to win that battle."

Aaitui has a lot of battles he not only can win but must win. For his sake and UNLV's.

Then again, he's used to standing above the crowd.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. To read more about the Rebels, go to lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.