Pablo Cano, Robert Blechen and Alema Fitisemanu all got well deserved promotions.
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah football has announced promotions for three staff members. Pablo Cano, Utah’s assistant director of player personnel for the past three years, is the new director of player personnel, replacing Fred Whittingham Jr. Whittingham was appointed to coach Utah’s tight ends last month.
Replacing Cano as assistant director of player personnel is Robert Blechen and filling a new position as director of high school relations is Alema Fitisamanu. Blechen and Fitisamanu are now full-time employees, after serving as recruiting administrative assistants.
Responsibilities in the three positions range from coordinating recruiting operations and logistics, all aspects surrounding prospect visits, initial film evaluations and Utah high school relations to overseeing the Ute football camps and clinics and NFL pro day, among other duties.
Cano (pronounced kahn-o) has 26 years of experience as a football recruiter and coach in six states and at five universities, four junior colleges and three high schools. Prior to joining Utah’s staff in 2012, he spent three seasons as the on-site recruiting coordinator at Arizona State from 2009-11 under current Ute assistant head coach and running backs coach Dennis Erickson.
Cano was the head coach at New Mexico Highlands in 2006 and 2007, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator. He was a coach and recruiting coordinator at two other four-year institutions—Texas College (2006) and Lincoln University (2003-05)—as well as four junior colleges: Pasadena City College (2008), Compton College (2002), Mt. San Antonio College (2001) and East Los Angeles College (1998-2000).
Cano played defensive back at three different colleges as an undergraduate: Whitworth in 1986, Rio Hondo College (DB/WR) in 1989 and Cal State Hayward from 1990-91. He received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State Los Angeles in kinesiology in 1999.
Blechen, the brother of former Ute and current Carolina Panther Brian Blechen, has been at Utah for three seasons. He assisted on the football video crew in 2013 and has spent the last two seasons as a recruiting administrative assistant. Blechen graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2010 with a dual major in sociology and sport management.
Fitisemanu (pronounced fee-tee-see-mah-new), a former first-team all-WAC linebacker for BYU, is in his second year at Utah after spending last season as a recruiting administrative assistant. He was an assistant football coach at Mountain View High School (Utah) in 2014 and at Desert Vista High School (Ariz.) in 2009 and 2012. He was head coach of the Samoa Hurricanes—the first high school football team in Apia, Samoa—in 2008.
As the first American Samoan to receive a full scholarship to a Division I school directly out of high school, Fitisemanu played linebacker at BYU in 1984-85 and 1989-90, breaking for a church mission. He was on four WAC champion teams and was a team captain during his first-team all-conference senior season. He received his bachelor’s from BYU in political science in 1993 and earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2010.
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah football has announced promotions for three staff members. Pablo Cano, Utah’s assistant director of player personnel for the past three years, is the new director of player personnel, replacing Fred Whittingham Jr. Whittingham was appointed to coach Utah’s tight ends last month.
Replacing Cano as assistant director of player personnel is Robert Blechen and filling a new position as director of high school relations is Alema Fitisamanu. Blechen and Fitisamanu are now full-time employees, after serving as recruiting administrative assistants.
Responsibilities in the three positions range from coordinating recruiting operations and logistics, all aspects surrounding prospect visits, initial film evaluations and Utah high school relations to overseeing the Ute football camps and clinics and NFL pro day, among other duties.
Cano (pronounced kahn-o) has 26 years of experience as a football recruiter and coach in six states and at five universities, four junior colleges and three high schools. Prior to joining Utah’s staff in 2012, he spent three seasons as the on-site recruiting coordinator at Arizona State from 2009-11 under current Ute assistant head coach and running backs coach Dennis Erickson.
Cano was the head coach at New Mexico Highlands in 2006 and 2007, where he also served as the recruiting coordinator. He was a coach and recruiting coordinator at two other four-year institutions—Texas College (2006) and Lincoln University (2003-05)—as well as four junior colleges: Pasadena City College (2008), Compton College (2002), Mt. San Antonio College (2001) and East Los Angeles College (1998-2000).
Cano played defensive back at three different colleges as an undergraduate: Whitworth in 1986, Rio Hondo College (DB/WR) in 1989 and Cal State Hayward from 1990-91. He received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State Los Angeles in kinesiology in 1999.
Blechen, the brother of former Ute and current Carolina Panther Brian Blechen, has been at Utah for three seasons. He assisted on the football video crew in 2013 and has spent the last two seasons as a recruiting administrative assistant. Blechen graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2010 with a dual major in sociology and sport management.
Fitisemanu (pronounced fee-tee-see-mah-new), a former first-team all-WAC linebacker for BYU, is in his second year at Utah after spending last season as a recruiting administrative assistant. He was an assistant football coach at Mountain View High School (Utah) in 2014 and at Desert Vista High School (Ariz.) in 2009 and 2012. He was head coach of the Samoa Hurricanes—the first high school football team in Apia, Samoa—in 2008.
As the first American Samoan to receive a full scholarship to a Division I school directly out of high school, Fitisemanu played linebacker at BYU in 1984-85 and 1989-90, breaking for a church mission. He was on four WAC champion teams and was a team captain during his first-team all-conference senior season. He received his bachelor’s from BYU in political science in 1993 and earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2010.
