Kalani Sitake is from Nukuʻalofa

Nukuʻalofa

Nukualofa is the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the southern most island group of Tonga.-Mythological origins:...

, Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

 and is currently the defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 for the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 Utes football team

Utah Utes football

The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...

. He played college football as a fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 for Brigham Young and graduated in 2000.

Coaching career

On Dec. 7, 2008, Kalani Sitake accepted the position as Utah's defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 and linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 coach. With his promotion in December of 2008. His formal duties began on January 3, 2009. Sitake became the first native Tongan named a defensive coordinator at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision school. When the resignation of the previous defensive coordinator, Gary Andersen

Gary Andersen

-External links:* *...

, became effective.

Prior to joining the Ute staff, Sitake spent two seasons at Southern Utah from 2003-04. He coached the Thunderbird running backs and tight ends in 2003, and the offensive line and tight ends in 2004.

Sitake got his start as an assistant coach during the 2001 season when he worked as the defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 coach and special teams coordinator at Eastern Arizona College

Eastern Arizona College

Eastern Arizona College , is a community college located in Graham County, Arizona. The main campus is in Thatcher, with satellite locations in Gila County, and Greenlee County...

. In 2002, he returned to his alma mater, Brigham Young, to be a graduate assistant for the defense. From 2003 to 2004 he worked at Southern Utah

Southern Utah University

Southern Utah University, or SUU, is located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah, by the citizens of Cedar City.During its history, the school has been known as:...

. During the 2003 season he was the running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 and tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

 coach; he coached the offensive line and tight ends during the 2004 season. His tenure at Utah

Utah Utes football

The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...

started in 2005, where he coached the linebackers until being promoted to defensive coordinator.