Vic So'oto - Football Coach (2024)

VicSo'oto in his third season at Cal and his secondcampaign as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach in 2024 after serving as the outside linebackers coach in 2022.

Before joining Cal, the former NFL and collegiate player spent the previous two campaigns in 2020 and 2021 on the USC coaching staff after a prior four-year stint at Virginia (2016-19). So’oto was on coaching staffs that won division titles in back-to-back seasons with the Cavaliers in 2019 (ACC Coastal) and Trojans in 2020 (Pac-12 South), while reaching bowls in each of his last three campaigns at Virginia (2017 Military Bowl, 2018 Belk Bowl, 2019 Orange Bowl) and then again at Cal in 2023 with an appearance in the Radiance TechnologiesIndependenceBowl.

So’oto began his coaching career in 2015 as an intern at his alma mater BYU, where he spent six seasons as a student-athlete from 2005-10. He was also on NFL rosters for four years in Green Bay (2011-12), Oakland (2012), Washington (2012), Arizona (2013), New Orleans (2013) and Pittsburgh (2014).

Coaching Career
California –Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers(2023 - Present); Outside Linebackers (2022)
– Has been instrumental in fostering the growth of 2024 returning starting outside linebackers Xavier Carlton and David Reese with Carlton totaling 84 tackles while combining to register more tackles for loss (12.0, -46 yards) and sacks (9.0, -39 yards) over the last two campaigns than any other Cal player and Reese postinghis best collegiate season in 2023with career highs of 35 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss (-61yards), 6.5 sacks (-58 yards), two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles (tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles also team highs)to earn honorable mention All-Pac-12 recognition, as well as Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week and PFF College Football Defensive Team of the Week honors for his performance in the regular-season finale at UCLA
– Runs a Bears' kickoff return unit that posted an average of 19.83 yards allowed per return that was Cal's best since 2016 and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in his first campaign as Cal's special teams coordinator in 2022 before dropping the yards allowed per kick return to 19.80 in 2023
– Coached Jaydn Ott to a 100-yard touchdown in his first ever kickoff return at any level of football in the 2023 regular-season finale at UCLA
– Helped 2024 returning punter Lachlan Wilson to a 2023 second-team All-Pac-12 selection according to the league's coaches and Phil Steele with Wilson's 44.5 yards per punt average second in the Pac-12 and 23rd nationally, seventh on Cal's all-time single-season list and his career 44.5 mark currently the best in Cal history
– Coached a unitthat helped the Cal defense became elite at takingawaythe ball awayand in 2023 led the nationwith 16fumbles recoveredand tied for the national lead with 28turnovers gained, both pacing the Pac-12, whilethe Bears' three defensive touchdowns were secondin the Pac-12 and tied for 15thnationally, their 12 interceptions tied for third in the Pac-12 and tied for 36th nationally, and the rushing defense sixth in the Pac-12 and 35th nationally (133.4 ypg)
– Helped the Bearswintheir final three regular-season games in 2023 to become bowl eligible and appear in the Radiance TechnologiesIndependence Bowl
– Named aCoach On The Rise by Our Coaching Network after Cal's win at UCLA
– Coached a 2022 outside linebacker group that was highlighted by the play of the team's leader in tackles for loss and sacks in Carlton(6.5 TFL, -31 yards; 4.5 sacks, -26 yards)
– On the recruiting front, has helped Calbring in a 2023 spring transfer portal class that was listed by The Athletic as one of its 10 "winners", while also being recognized by On3 (1 of 12 "winners") and 247Sports (No. 17 overall class) then followed that up with a 2024 transfer portal group that is currently ranked as high as No. 16 by On3 after reaching as high as No. 6 by the media outlet at one point.

USC– Defensive Line (2020); Defensive Line/Outside Linebackers (2020-21)
– Tuli Tuipulotu became So'oto's second first-team All-Pac-12 selection in as many seasons as a 2021 sophom*ore when he had team-highs of 7.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks while Jackson was a second-team All-Pac-12 pick and Kana'i Mauga was an honorable mention choice
– Helped the Trojans to a Pac-12 South Division title and a 5-1 overall record in his first season in 2020 with his defensive linemen racking up awards (Marlon Tuipulotu, first-team All-Pac-12; Drake Jackson, second-team All-Pac-12; Nick Figueroa, honorable mention All-Pac-12; Tuli Tuipulotu, second-team Freshman All-American, honorable mention Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year)
– Recruitedand signed Korey Foreman, a five-star recruit who was the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2021 according to 247Sports, while Rivals tabbed him No. 3 and ESPN No. 4, with 247Sports also listing him as the nation’s top defensive lineman and Rivals as the best strong side defensive end in the class
– Coached four players currently on NFL rosters in Drake Jackson (San Francisco), Mauga(Las Vegas), Jay Tufele (Cincinnati), Marlon Tuipulotu (Philadelphia) and Tuli Tuipulotu (Los Angeles Chargers) with Jackson and TuliTuipulotu being selected in the second round of the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts in the second round by their current teams, while Tufele was selected in the fourth round by Jacksonville and Marlon Tuipulotu in the sixth round by his current Eagles' squad in 2021 by Jacksonville, whileMauga signed as a free agent with Denver in 2022

Virginia– Graduate Assistant, Defense (2016); Defensive Line (2017-19)
– Coached on staffs that reached bowls in each of his three seasons as the defensive line coach (2017 Military Bowl, 2018 Belk Bowl, 2019 Orange Bowl)
– Coached a defensive unit that put up numbers among the nation’s best in each campaign of his full-time tenure including his final season in 2019 when the Cavaliers ranked ninth nationally in sacks (3.3) and 22nd in tackles for loss (7.1) on a squad that won the ACC Coastal title and finished 9-4 overall; while his 2018 squad was 12th in passing efficiency (107.6), 16th in passing yards allowed (183.0 ypg), 20th in total defense (330.5 ypg) and 21st in scoring defense (20.1 ppg) on its way to a 28-0 Belk Bowl win over South Carolina; and his 2017 team was seventh in passing yards allowed (165.8 ypg) and ninth in red zone defense (72.7%)
– Began his coaching career in 2016 as a graduate assistant on defense just two years removed from the end of his NFL playing career
– Position coach forNFL defensive tackle Andrew Brown in 2017 with Brown becoming a fifth-round NFL Draft pick of Cincinnati in 2018 and spending three seasons with the Bengals (2018-20) before later becoming members of rosters in Houston (2020), Indianapolis (2021), Tennessee (2021), the Los Angeles Chargers (2021-22), Arizona (2022), Chicago (2022) and Buffalo (2023)

BYU– Intern (2015)
– Served as an intern for a team that finished 9-4 overall and played Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl

NFL Playing Career– Green Bay (2011-12); Oakland (2012); Washington (2012); Arizona (2013); New Orleans (2013); Pittsburgh (2014)
– Saw action with four different teams and was on rosters of six squads during his four-year NFL playing career, getting into games with Green Bay (2011-12), Oakland (2012), Washington (2012) and Arizona (2013), while he was also on the rosters of New Orleans (2013) and Pittsburgh (2014) but did not see any game action
– Totaled 14 games played, one start, eight tackles and one quarterback hit

Collegiate Playing Career– BYU (2005-10)
– Four-year letterwinner (2005, ’07, ’09-10) who started his career as a tight end before moving to defense as a linebacker and defensive end for his final three seasons of six campaigns that also included two redshirt years
– Teams combined for a 56-21 (.727) record during his playing career, finished the season ranked in the top 25 four times (2006, ’07, ’08, ‘09), won two Mountain West Conference titles (2016, ’17) and reached bowl games each year, winning three of five appearances at the Las Vegas Bowl in 2006, ’07 and ’09, and in their lone trip to the New Mexico Bowl in 2010
– First-Team All-Mountain West selection on a defense as a sixth-year senior in 2010 when he recorded 45 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 quarterback sacks and one interception

Other
– Selected by the American Football Coaches Association to its 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute in 2020
– Second cousin of the late Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau

Year-By-Year Coaching Positions
Season: Team – Coaching Position (Postseason, Champions)
2015: BYU – Intern (Las Vegas Bowl)
2016:Virginia – Graduate Assistant, Defense
2017:Virginia – Defensive Line (Military Bowl)
2018:Virginia – Defensive Line (Belk Bowl)
2019:Virginia – Defensive Line (Orange Bowl, ACC Coastal Champion)
2020:USC – Defensive Line (Pac-12 South Champion)
2021:USC – Defensive Line/Outside Linebackers
2022: California– Outside Linebackers
2023: California– Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers (Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl)
2024: California– Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers

File
Pronunciation: so-oh-toe
Hometown: Oceanside, CA
High School:Carlsbad HS
College:BYU, 2010, BS, Geography
Family: Wife – Ashley; Daughters – Fia, Ave; Sons – Tre, Samson, Mack

Last Updated
June 8, 2024