Penn State D-Tackle Siale Taupaki Is In His EIGHTH Season Of College Football, And It's One Of The Most Fascinating Stories In The Sport This Year

Penn State obviously underwent a lot of change in the football program this past year. A fired coach. The CEO of Crumbl Cookies butting into our search for a new coach. But eventually, the universe brought us to our fearless leader Matt Campbell. And with Campbell came an entirely new staff and an entirely new roster, as a whopping 40 players from all across the country decided to pack their bags and transfer to Happy Valley. 

One of those new players is Siale Taupaki, who is currently in his EIGHTH season of college football. He began his college career at UCLA in 2019, but he didn't play at all his freshman season. 2020 rolled around, and everyone received an extra year of eligibility due to COVID. He was then injured for pretty much all of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, so because of redshirt rules, coronavirus, and medical waivers, Siale went through his first four years without using any of his eligibility. Wild. 

Luke Hales. Getty Images.

Now this is typically a situation where the public would tell this man to go get a job. Quit hanging around in college and go join the real world. But this scenario is a lot different compared to some of these college athletes who beg the NCAA for a 6th or 7th year of eligibility. The ones who go to a fucking local judge to overturn a ruling if it's not the ruling they want. Those dweebs. 

This is a guy who had to wait a long time to get his shot due to unfortunate circumstances. Now that he's gotten that shot, though, he's making the most of it. First at UCLA and now at Penn State. And he's maximizing the NIL opportunity presented to him so he can help his family out back home. 

Siale's parents immigrated to the United States from Tonga. They arrived in Oakland, California knowing very little English and having very little money. So when Siale was growing up, his family was constantly moving around. They were getting evicted. Bouncing from hotel to hotel. They moved into a local church and stayed in one of the rooms there without the church's pastor even knowing. And at one point, Siale was one of 22 people living in a two-bedroom house. People had to sleep outside because there wasn't enough room. 

Siale didn't start playing football until high school, but he did enough then to earn a scholarship offer from UCLA. However, now that he's playing all the way across the country, he's obviously nowhere near as close to his hometown or his family anymore. He had to buy his parents internet before the season started so they could watch his first game at Penn State online. 

He shared that piece of info in a press conference last week. After said press conference, he went around the room and shook the hands of all twenty or so reporters in there. The guy is just a class act. I've also been told he volunteers with a group on campus to make sure local kids K-12 have meals for after school.

So while people can ridicule a player for being 24 or 25 and still in college, I choose to root for him. He's faced a lot of adversity in his life -- both in his childhood and in his playing career -- but now he's doing whatever he can to chase his dreams and help his family in the process. While other college players are using their NIL money to buy fancy cars and Rolex watches, Siale Taupaki is supporting loved ones with his. 

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I respect the hell out of that.