Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547107
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 3 3 S iale Taupaki has seen a lot in his 25 years, but before arriving at Penn State in January, the native Cal- ifornian and former UCLA defensive lineman had never been part of any- thing like the Nittany Lion football ex- perience. At PSU, the serenity of Central Penn- sylvania farm country bumps up against the roar of big-time college athletics, creating an atmosphere that's unique among Power Four football titans. When he called home prior to the Li- ons' season opener against Marshall, the veteran defensive tackle warned his parents that his new school was very different from his old one. "I told them, you might see horses and cows on the sideline," he said, smil- ing. "You don't see that a lot on the West Coast." Truth be told, you don't see it a lot at Penn State either, but … point taken. It's an ag school. And for Taupaki, who is playing his eighth and final season of college foot- ball, the atmosphere was part of the appeal. He wanted a clean break after spending seven years with the Bruins, a lengthy tenure that was prolonged by a series of injuries and complicated by a midcareer position change. There was something enticing about spending his final season of college eligibility on the opposite coast at a school that was making a break of its own. The Nittany Lions were bringing in 40 transfers, 15 true freshmen and a largely new coach- ing staff. Taupaki saw himself as some- one who could make a difference on and off the field. It helped that the chemistry with Matt Campbell was good right from the very start. On their first phone call, while Taupaki was still in the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions' new head coach began by asking about his mom and dad, a gesture that immediately sold Taupaki on the program. "I knew he was a family man, and then he was a football coach," Taupaki said. "From that point on, I knew I could come to him about anything." It helped, too, that two other UCLA expats were headed to State College as well. Defensive line coach Ikaika Mal- loe and redshirt senior defensive tackle Keanu Williams had also chosen to be part of Campbell's rebuild, so while the school's rural surroundings were en- tirely unfamiliar, he wasn't the only for- mer Los Angeleno who had somehow found himself plopped down amid the hills, valleys and livestock of a strange new world. A Penn Stater For Life The son of Tongan immigrants, Tau- paki grew up in the Bay Area, 2,400 miles from his current home. He had three brothers and two sisters, and the Taupaki siblings were only part of an extended family that struggled to fit into their East Oakland residence. "At one point, there were 22 of us in a two-bedroom house," Taupaki recalled. "Some of us had to sleep outside." Taupaki said recently that his par- ents are "still struggling." His father is a retired construction worker, while his mother works in a senior care facility. Taupaki pays for their internet so they can watch his games online. Television is a luxury in which the family doesn't often indulge. "We don't watch a lot of TV back at home," he said. "We just work and rest, and that's about it." Asked recently about the opportu- nity he's been given to improve his fam- ily's circumstances via college athletics, Taupaki could not have been more blunt about the reality of his finances. "I'm broke," he said. "While everybody else is trying to buy the next [piece of jewelry] or buy the next car, I'm just try- ing to fill in all the holes that I have back at home, understanding the platform that I have and how far I came. I really try to take full advantage of the opportunity, because I come from nothing. "When I go home, I'm not a football player," he continued. "I'm a son. Ev- erything that I do, I've got to do it based off my parents. That football stuff is out the door. The opportunity that I've got with the NIL era and the great coaching staff and all that, I'm thankful for it. But at the end of the day, I've still got stuff to do as a son."