SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah football team’s defensive coordinator is heading to Oregon State.
Kalani Sitake, who has served as defensive coordinator since 2009, is leaving Utah to take the same position at Oregon State, under former Utah State head coach and Utah assistant coach Gary Andersen.
Under Sitake, Utah has earned a reputation for its defensive strength. Utah leads the nation in sacks, at 55.0, and senior Nate Orchard, who finished the season with an FBS-best 18.5 sacks, received the Ted Hendricks Award, which is given to college football’s top defensive end.
Utah finished the season with a 9-4 record (5-4 in the Pac-12), including a win in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Sitake and Andersen have coached together before; Andersen hired Sitake as an assistant at Southern Utah University and they coached together at Utah. Andersen most recently worked as the head coach at Wisconsin before taking the job at OSU this month.
