Wisconsin Football: Olive Sagapolu’s back flip translates to success in the trenches

At this point, you’ve probably seen it. Badger Football’s 350-pound senior defensive lineman, Olive Sagapolu, pulled off an insanely impressive standing back flip in the sand. Any person who can do a back flip is a marvel in my book, but doing one when you’re as big of a guy as Sagapolu, in the extremely non-bouncy surface that is sand, is nuts. But it goes to show just how impressive of an athlete Sagapolu is and how important he will be to the young Badger defense this year. As the only senior on the 2018 defensive line, Sagapolu will need to produce big number so it remains at its general high-performing status this year. Here’s why his back flip translates to big success on the field.

Explosiveness

Perhaps you’ve tried to recreate the Rocky beach run scene before. As you probably found out, It’s not easy to get your footing on a beach and it’s very difficult to generate any type of force with your lower body. To generate enough force to flip 350 pounds on a beach should raise some eyebrows. Sagapolu has always been known to clog up the middle of the defense, regularly taking on double teams, but his ability to explode off the ball has improved since his arrival. This culminated in an impressive junior season where he racked up 3 sacks and 3.5  TFL – my favorite being the steamrolling sack he produced against the Gophers. If this back flip is any evidence then I expect more of the same from Sagapolu in 2018. Quarterbacks, be warned.

Balance

Sagapolu’s ability to find where his feet were and land gracefully without falling on his face is equally worthy of praise. Inherently knowing your body position at all times is invaluable to any defensive lineman looking for success in college and at the next level. With the ever-present threats of cut blocks, digs, and double teams, you have to be able to stay balanced and stay alert at all times. It’s not an easy feat, especially when you’re 6 feet 2 inches, 346 pounds, but Sagapolu seems to have an innate knack for it.

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Gaining Leverage

Staying low to the ground is key to the success of any D-Line rush. Von Miller might be the best case of this, as he gains leverages by freakishly contorting his body down and around opposing tackles. Sagapolu isn’t at Von’s level, but his ability to effectively leverage and contort his body on the beach should serve him well as he looks to harass opposing backfields this upcoming season.

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With the maturation of Garrett Rand, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and the addition of Bryson Williams, Sagapolu and crew should flip the field on several defensive series with majorly disruptive plays this upcoming season.