Cardinals want ‘gentle giant’ Fotu to become ‘bully’
Ask just about anyone in the Cardinals’ organization about rookie defensive lineman Leki Fotu and their general first response usually sounds about the same as the next.
“He’s a massive human being,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said.
“He’s a large, large human being and being a guard, I have to go against him daily,” Justin Pugh said.
What say you, Brentson Buckner? “Leki is one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever been around,” the team’s defensive line coach said.
It goes on and on. But there’s so much more beyond the imposing size and strength of the 6-foot-5, 335-pound Fotu, Arizona’s fourth-round pick this year out of Utah.
“Leki’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen, and I don’t get around people that make me feel small,” said free-agent addition Jordan Phillips, the Cardinals’ 6-6, 341-pound defensive end. “You just look at him and I’m like, ‘How are you this big? How do you move this well?’
Once he can make that transition from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4, getting off the ball, attacking, being violent, he’s going to be a problem.
“He’s going to be the biggest, dynamic football player we’ve seen in a long time.”
Let that last line sink in for a moment.
The Cardinals drafted two defensive linemen in the fourth round this year, also selecting 6-2, 308-pounder Rashard Lawrence from LSU, and Joseph is hopeful both men will earn anywhere from 15-20 snaps a game in the team’s regular rotation. But Fotu has chance to be special and possibly grow into a game changer.
Partly, it’s because the Cardinals plan to free him up in a position switch that will allow him to be more dynamic. Instead of being asked to simply eat up blocks as an interior lineman like he did in college, Fotu, who hopes to play at a more manageable weight of 320-325 pounds, has been kicked outside like a defensive end, where he can use his sized, speed and strength to rush the passer and cause havoc in the backfield while also defending the edge.
According to Buckner, Fotu has been a sponge at soaking up information and learning new techniques with his hands and feet and how to better leverage his size and mobility.
“The thing I love about Leki is he’s not afraid to be coached,” Buckner says. “He wants to be coached. He wants it. Even when he’s right, he’s trying to find me a way to tell him he’s wrong. I’m like, ‘No, I’ve got to give you credit. You was right.’
“He’s so humble. He’s like a gentle giant. The thing I want with him is I said, ‘Leki, I want you to realize you’re going to be one of the biggest men in the NFL. You’re stronger than everybody. Be a bully. It’s free to be a bully in the NFL. Realize can’t nobody whup you. Be a bully, get mad, tear somebody’s arm off.”
During a recent video conference call with reporters, Fotu nodded his head in agreement when Buckner’s words were relayed to him.
“That’s what I’ve got to do,” Fotu said. “I’ve got to use my strength, be that bully, and I’ve got to act on it now, so I can take it into the season.”
Buckner is right, though. Fotu is a gentle giant. He is massive and looks intimidating, but he also has a ton of compassion and love in his heart. He is incredibly kind, according to teammates, and his mind never wanders too far from his family, who are his rock and inspiration.
Before every game in college, for example, Fotu would find a quiet place and a time for some self-reflection to stop and say prayers for his family. Part of those moments always involve dedicating his love and his play to his baby sister and his father. Sadly, Fotu lost them both 14 years ago this month.
Emma was just 3 years old when she veered away from supervision at a Bay Area hotel and found herself in an elevator, riding it a few stories up. She looked out over a balcony at a family celebration taking place below and tragically, she fell.
A few weeks later, Fotu’s father, Likiliki, suffered a stroke and died. During an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune last December, Leki said it was the loss of Emma that killed his father.
“His heart couldn’t handle it,” he said. Knowing all of that, is it even fair to ask one of the Cardinals’ biggest, most compassionate men to turn himself into a “bully?” If he wants to keep honoring his baby sister and his dad, maybe it is.
His game will only get better, his coaches say, if he plays with a nasty streak and dominates the people across from him.
Fotu is ready to give it a try. He’s been adding a little more rage to his workouts every day and teammates are taking notice.
“I know that I have that in me,” Fotu said. “I think it’s going to take some time to come out, but I know I have it in me.”
Perhaps Fotu can channel some of that ruggedness from his rugby-playing days in high school and when he was on the U.S. national junior team that trained in London. He was a mountain of a man against boys back then and some of his video highlights are legendary.
“I wouldn’t want to mess with him, that’s for sure,” Kingsbury said. “You watch his rugby highlights and I can only imagine what that was like.”
When Fotu ran with the ball in rugby, he wasn’t just nearly impossible to bring down. He was surprisingly nimble and fast for someone his size. It’s also why reporters asked Kingsbury if he thought there might be room for Fotu on offense as a fullback in shortyardage and goal-line situations.
Fotu said he’s open to the idea. “Maybe somewhere down the road, but that’s the coaches’ decision,” he said. “I’m ready whenever my number is called. If that’s something they want me to do, that’s totally up to the coach.”
There’s just one more thing about Leki Fotu, the supposed “gentle giant.” He doesn’t wear gloves and he just might be one of the only defensive lineman in the NFL that doesn’t. He stopped wearing them a couple years ago, he said, because “I just got comfortable using my bare hands in a game,” he said.
Phillips, the only man slightly bigger in Cardinals’ camp than Fotu, just shakes his head at the thought.
“As soon as I saw Leki didn’t have gloves on,” Phillips said, “I said, ‘OK, you’re crazy. I’m not going to mess with you. Whatever you want to do, bro, you can have it.’ Anybody that don’t wear gloves, something’s wrong with you.’ ”
The Cardinals’ “gentle giant” just might be becoming a “bully” quicker than he knows.
Players released
The Cardinals announced Sunday they have released the following four players: tight end Ryan Becker, offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez, cornerback Zane Lewis and defensive lineman Adam Shuler. That leaves the team’s roster at 75. All NFL teams must get down to 53 players by Saturday.