In moving from student to teacher, Sagapolu follows Badger blueprint
March 22, 2018 | Football, Mike Lucas, Varsity Magazine
For senior Olive Sagapolu, mentoring younger teammates helps strengthen the ‘D-line family’
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After practice, Bryson Williams, a freshman, dutifully tagged along with Olive Sagapolu, a senior-to-be and the only defensive lineman with starting experience on Wisconsin's roster.
Their destination was the blocking sled in the McClain Center.
"We're about to do some extra work," declared Sagapolu, the 339-pound nose tackle.
While their teammates cleared the field, grabbing Gatorade bottles on the way to the locker room, the 21-year-old Sagapolu kept the 18-year-old Williams after class for some personal instruction.
"I'm trying to teach Bryson how to do things," Sagapolu said.
Today's lesson focused on Williams getting out of his stance. React and go.
The first step. Literally.
"I'm trying to get him used to reading blocks right off the snap," said Sagapolu, a veteran of 36 career games and 18 starts. "That takes a lot of repetitions. That's what the spring is for.
"You've got to get your eyes right."
Your head, too. And, by the sounds of it, Williams has his screwed on the right way. Especially for someone so new to the college football culture, someone so young and impressionable.
The Badgers will stage their spring game April 13 at Camp Randall Stadium. The following day, Williams is hoping to return home to Lincoln, Nebraska, for his prom at Southeast High School. He bypassed his final semester in order to enroll early at UW, joining the Badgers in January.
"Yes, technically, he's still in high school," Sagapolu allowed, referring to Williams' experience level. "But he carries himself well. He's progressing. I'm excited to see what he can do for us and what his future holds.
"He's responsible enough to ask Coach or me whenever he has problems."
Coach is "Coach Nokes" — Inoke Breckterfield, who tutors the D-line at Wisconsin.
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During his formative stages, Sagapolu pointed out that "I had a great coach like Nokes teaching me" and now Sagapolu is passing along his knowledge to Williams, much to the delight of Breckterfield.
"Olive has taken on a mentoring role," said Breckterfield, who also coached with Paul Chryst at Pittsburgh, where he mentored reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. "That's what the older guys did with him, they kind of mentored him. Now, he's picking up where they left off and he's doing the same.
"It's always good to see that."
It's a proven blueprint, players and coaches agree — the Badger blueprint.
On his mentoring role, Sagapolu conceded, "It's a little new for me. But it's something I love doing."
You won't hear any complaints from the "mentee" who has been following his every step.
"It's no secret," Williams said, "I'm trying to get to where he's at."
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Getting here took some work and patience. Sagapolu was born in Hawaii, raised in American Samoa, and attended middle school and high school (Mater Dei) in southern California.
"Sometimes I get confused on where I should say that I'm from and I just say, 'I'm from the West,'" joked Sagapolu, whose family is now living in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 30 minutes from Honolulu.
When he's back home, he will usually meet up with UW offensive lineman Micah Kapoi, who's from Kapolei (less than five miles from Ewa Beach). "We'll grab some grub," said Sagapolu, grinning.
Polynesian food is big in his life. But not as big as faith and family. Sagapolu takes pride in his heritage as far as, "This is who we represent, this is who I am, and this is what my family is made of."
Two uncles, Domato and Tupe Peke, played at Michigan State and in the NFL. They've been supportive of Sagapolu, who understands how he can impact others like they have impacted him.
"I had a lot of guys take me under their wing when I was a young guy," he said of his freshman year at Wisconsin. "Guys who were always in my ear — telling me what to do and how to play."
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They were the core guys on the defensive line; guys like senior Jake Keefer, junior Arthur Goldberg, sophomores Chikwe Obasih, Conor Sheehy and Alec James. They helped mentor Sagapolu.
Last Wednesday, NFL hopefuls Sheehy and James took part in Pro Day at the McClain Center. Obasih, who has entered the business world, was there for support. So was Sagapolu.
"It was exciting and good to see my boys," said Sagapolu. "They looked smooth in all the drills and they tested really well for themselves. It was awesome seeing them chasing their dreams."
The Badgers will be hard-pressed to replace the production and savvy of Sheehy (54 games, 32 starts), James (54, 26) and Obasih (49, 31). Their departures have put Sagapolu in that mentoring mode.
"It's a little different for him because he's the only senior," James said. "But he's a guy who's always doing the right things even when no one is watching. He's always in here doing extra work."
And that tends to rub off on others, James hinted, especially younger, less experienced players. Breckterfield saw the same signs once everyone returned to campus after the Orange Bowl win.
"Olive would bring all the D-linemen in here on Saturdays and they'd work out and go through some drills on their own," Breckterfield said. "He was the guy who got everything settled that way."
Since he was going to be there anyway on weekends, Sagapolu enjoyed organizing the group.
"Everybody knows me for coming in and working on a little bit of my pass rush and a little bit on the run," he said. "I want to be familiar with it, so I don't second-guess myself when playing.
"Being a senior now, I talk to the guys about their pass rush and how to take care of their body and stuff like that. We're a very young group. But I'm excited for what the spring holds."
Last season, Sagapolu had three quarterback sacks among his 17 total tackles. Despite his size, he's agile enough to execute a standing back flip, the full splits, and a mid-air leaping toe touch.
This spring, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand, a converted nose tackle, are flanking Sagapolu on the line of scrimmage. Loudermilk will be a sophomore and Rand will be a junior.
"I told them," Breckterfield said of Sagapolu, Loudermilk and Rand, "it's your group now. You have to be the leaders and do what the other guys did before you.
"I'm cross-training everybody. Garrett knows nose and he's going to play end. I'm training Olive and Bryson to play some 4-I (4-technique, head-up on the offensive tackle). All of my ends will be in that zero spot (head-up on the center) in some nickel packages. We want to stay versatile with guys who can do multiple things."
Over the past three seasons, Sagapolu has frequently come out of the game when the Badgers have added an extra defensive back against spread offenses or in obvious passing situations.
"My goal is to be an all-down guy," said Sagapolu, who's planning on losing 10 pounds or so. "I feel like I can be a bigger impact at 330. And I want to get faster and stronger in the weight room."
Along with that, he added, "Increasing my football IQ is going to be a big thing for me."
Sagapolu has shared his personal checklist with Williams. From play to play, he grades himself on his reactions off the snap, his physicality in taking on blockers and his pursuit of the ball.
"He has been great," said the 6-2, 306-pound Williams. "He has always taken extra time to help me out with the plays and footwork and all of that. His footwork and hand placement are great.
"That's why I'm always behind him — seeing what he's doing and trying to duplicate it. The main difference from high school is you're not just reading a certain play, you're reading everything."
So far, Breckterfield has gotten a positive read on Williams, a two-time first-team all-state selection in Nebraska. The well-rounded Williams also excelled in the shot put and the classroom.
"He's an explosive kid, he's strong in the weight room and he's smart," Breckterfield said. "He has a good work ethic and a great attitude. He wants to learn, and we'll grow him as much as we can this spring."
It's ironic that Sagapolu is majoring in community and non-profit leadership — "I like helping kids, I love to work with kids," he said — given his youthful supporting cast on the D-line.
"Even with the younger defensive ends," he said, "I'm teaching them how they should be playing little things that make the D-line great. At the end of the day, we're family, the D-line family."
