The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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COMMITMENT PROFILE arrive until mid-February. That one, from the home-state Wolverines, was too much to pass up. Several trips, including one for the annual spring game April 1, led to his pledge. "I went up for the spring game, then stayed for the junior day [the follow- ing day]," he said. "It was just a really good experience, and I actually got to come up here with my sisters, so they got the experience too. I was able to get my family more involved. "I had no clue that I was going to commit. Just being there, more and more every time, it's been better. Es- pecially seeing my sisters really happy about the place, I decided it was the place for me." That family feel was a big deal for Paea, who counts redshirt sopho- more defensive tackle Bryan Mone as a cousin (as well as Washington Redskins defensive lineman Phillip Paea, who played his college ball at Oregon State). New Michigan direc- tor of player personnel Tony Tuioti is of Pacific Islands heritage — though he's Samoan, whereas Paea is Tongan — and the Polynesian community is a tight-knit one. Though many of them who make their way to the U.S. mainland take up residence on the West Coast or in Utah, Paea is Great Lakes State born and raised. "It's a bonus with [Tuioti] being there," Paea said. "Pretty much having the same background and knowing what it's like. I'll definitely be recruit- ing more Polynesians to come out here to the East, since most of them are out West. I want to see even more here. "My dad moved here from Califor- nia because his older brother came to a university out here. That's why he followed, to have some family around. Then when he went back, he liked it so much he wanted all of us kids to grow up around an environment like this." The 6-4, 277-pounder is a talented — but raw — prospect on the gridiron. He's slated to play defensive tackle to begin his Mich- igan career, even though he's more experienced on the offensive line (Rivals.com rates him as the No. 13 offensive guard in the country). After playing linebacker at 260-plus pounds dur- ing his sophomore year, he's relatively new to the defensive front. He plans to turn his athleticism into production at the college level. "They're looking at me on both sides of the ball, but I'm probably go- ing to end up playing defensive tackle over there," he said. "I'm a motor guy. Definitely, I'm not going to take off any plays. I challenge myself and my opponents on every down." After a couple years learning in Ann Arbor, there's no doubt he should be tearing up opposing backfields. — Tim Sullivan Paea "I'm a motor guy. Definitely, I'm not going to take off any plays. I challenge myself and my opponents on every down."