Every fall is bittersweet.
New students arrive, while older students set off for new adventures.
Defensive lineman Tueni Lupeamanu is about to enter his senior year at Idaho. Just by looking at Lupeamanu, who stands over 6 feet and weighs 305 lbs., it’s hard to believe he was not always a lineman.
The Herriman, Utah, native started as a high school quarterback. It wasn’t until his arrival in Moscow, that Idaho head coach Paul Petrino decided to give the defensive conversion a chance.
The strategy proved successful and Lupeamanu began his collegiate career as a true freshman. He improved more and more each year, almost doubling his tackle count with every season.
Last year was when Lupeamanu began to show his individual play-making abilities, recording five solo tackles in the Vandal’s win against Louisiana-Monroe Oct. 24. In 2015, he produced seven tackles in two games and a fumble recovery. Defensive line coach Kenny Holmes has watched Lupeamanu grow for the past year and is excited on how far he has come.
“Tueni’s improvement from last year to now is tremendous,” Holmes said. “He’s going to be a great leader for us. In our room, as a defensive line, we really need a spokesperson. Tueni is that person.”
Lupeamanu is of Polynesian heritage, and was recently placed on the watch list for the 2016 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.
As a senior, it will be expected of Lupeamanu to take on more of a leadership role and guide younger players on the line.
“From conditioning to lifting weights, he is competing 100 percent and it shows,” Holmes said. “What’s more important is that his teammates recognize it. It’s a lot easier to a guy when he’s leaving it all on the field.”
Fall camps are coming to a close now, and Lupeamanu seemed eager to start the season.
“We’re just doing the best we can to prepare for our first game,” Lupeamanu said after Saturday’s scrimmage.
Getting to the quarterback is one area Lupeamanu hopes to improve upon. Since 2013, he has racked seven and a half sacks in his career, five during his freshman season. If he wants to have a chance at playing professional football after Idaho, Lupeamanu knows that tracking down the quarterback is one area he must excel in.
Not being able to do any real damage on a pass rush can be frustrating for defensive players during practices. Once game-time comes, however, the gloves will come off.
“Really, that’s what I’m looking forward to,” Lupeamanu said.
It will come down to just 12 games, two of which against PAC-12 opponents, for Lupeamanu put an exclamation point on his time as a Vandal.
The Vandals will start the season 6 p.m. Sept. 1 against Montana State in the Kibbie Dome.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill