This ‘nasty’ line might be the best Kurle has ever coached at Graham-Kapowsin
Eric Kurle has coached some good offensive lines over the years, like the one led by tackle Foster Sarrell in 2016. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Sarrell, who went on to play at Stanford after his Graham-Kapowsin career, was one of the most highly sought after recruits ever from the state.
He’s the best lineman Kurle has ever coached. But collectively, this 2021 group might be the best Kurle has ever seen during his 25-year head coaching career.
“They’re the best, biggest, strongest and most physical line we’ve ever had, all the way across,” Kurle said. “And they’re all juniors.”
It’s a group that includes 6-foot-3, 290-pound left guard Austin Siitia, 6-foot-2, 265-pound center Josh Holder and 6-foot-5, 315-pound tackle Vega Ioane. Ioane, considered a three-star recruit by 247sports.com, has offers from a number of Pac-12 schools, including UW and USC.
On defense, this is as nasty a front seven as any in the state, with twin brothers Curtis and Hunter Hill as classic run stuffers. Senior linebacker Jonas Waugh is a three-year starter and has natural instincts at the position.
Graham-Kapowsin won the Class 4A South Puget Sound League last year. Gone is Tacoma News Tribune first-team selection Malaki Roberson, one of the state’s most explosive playmakers in space in 2019. Junior Joshua Wood will be making his first varsity start at quarterback this season.
Despite the inexperience at some of the skill positions, the Eagles remain the favorite to win the league. They’re going to run teams over, and running on that front seven won’t be an easy task for opponents.
“It starts with the run,” said Curtis Hill. “It starts with being physical. The receivers have to do their part, too, with being physical. Once we get all of that established, we can get fancy with it, go over the top and pass a lot.”
Ioane said the linemen embrace that type of blue-collar toughness that has become synonymous with Graham-Kapowsin in recent years.
“Our linemen, we don’t really care about shining out there,” he said. “We’re just there to work, get touchdowns for our receivers, running backs, all that.”
Off the field, it’s a group of well-mannered kids that do well in school and are in good standing in their community. On the field, they flip a switch.
“They’re just nasty and mean,” Kurle said. “Several of them bench over 350. It’s the strongest group I’ve ever had. They’re tough, nasty, they play hard and they’re good kids. There’s a lot of experience there (with the front seven).”
Ioane is eager to put out some fresh film for recruiters. He heard the talk from recruiting analysts who said he had slow feet as a sophomore.
“I took that very personally,” he said.
So he spent the offseason working with a trainer, doing ladder drills and working on his quickness. The increased foot speed should pay dividends for protecting new quarterback Joshua Wood and open holes for sophomore running back Jalen Davenport, a Curtis transfer.
“We’ve got a whole lot of size, our receiving crew is fast,” Wood said. “I feel like we have the best defense. We’re just powerful overall. We’ll punch you in the mouth. We have a hard running game, a big line and then our passing game is just elite. I think if we have a full season this year, we’d win state.”
Wood said the cohesiveness of the line stands out to him.
“Just the chemistry,” he said. “We’ve all been together since freshman year. The chemistry, everyone knows what they’re doing and they trust each other. They know they’re going to do their job. We’ve all been training, they’ve been training and pushing themselves every day.”
Like Nate Thomas in 2019, Wood will be able to make throws and also extend plays with his legs.
“He’s dynamic,” Hill said. “He can run, he’s really accurate and he’s a great leader.”
There won’t be a postseason, but Graham-Kapowsin can use this as a building season. The bulk of the roster returns in the fall.
“The biggest thing is just giving these seniors an opportunity to play,” Kurle said. “We have four kids that are seniors that start and play a lot, and some others that rotate in. Just getting them a season. Our strength is our junior and sophomore class. We’ll have some fun with these guys and get to play high school football.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
