DT making most of eighth year

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Defensive tackle Siale Taupaki called his parents after Penn State’s win against Marshall last Saturday. He said his father had chills from visualizing the Beaver Stadium atmosphere while watching the game on TV.

His parents could watch the game only because Taupaki paid for their internet. Taupaki, who’s in his eighth season of college football, called it a “big opportunity” to support his family in the NIL era.

“My parents are still struggling,” Taupaki, 25, said Tuesday. “I’m broke, so while everybody else is still trying to buy their next pendant or buy their next car, I’m really just trying to fill in all the holes that I have back at home.”

Taupaki grew up across the country in California after his family emigrated from Tonga, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. He comes from a large family. He said at one point there were 22 people living in his family’s two-bedroom house — with some of them having to sleep outside.

At home, Taupaki said his parents don’t watch TV very often. All they know is work and rest. So he’s thankful for the chance to help his parents through his college football career.

“I really try to take advantage and take full advantage of the opportunity that I can with the platform because I come from nothing,” he said. “When I go home, I’m not even a football player. I’m still a son, so everything that I’ve got to do beforehand and [after], I’ve got to do it based off my parents.”

Taupaki was a 247Sports three-star recruit in the 2019 class before committing to UCLA. He spent seven years with the Bruins because he redshirted as a true freshman, gained an extra year due to COVID-19 and dealt with injuries in other seasons.

When Taupaki was in the transfer portal this past offseason ahead of his eighth year, Penn State coach Matt Campbell gave him a call and asked him about his family before football. That immediately stood out to Taupaki.

“I was sold because not a lot of people ask for my family or everyone else that came with me,” Taupaki said. “He asked me, ‘How was my mom? How was my dad?’ And with that, I knew he was a family man, then he was a football coach. So from there, I knew I could come to him about anything because he’s a father before he was a coach.”

As a leader in the defensive tackle room, Taupaki earned the right to start in Penn State’s season opener, a 45-0 win against Marshall. Taupaki, an interior run stuffer who’s listed at 6 feet 4 and 326 pounds, assisted on one tackle.

Beyond the stat sheet, Taupaki gives off “contagious energy” that helps everyone around him improve as a player, said defensive tackle Keanu Williams, who’s also Taupaki’s roommate.

And after his press conference Tuesday, Taupaki shook the hands of more than 20 members of the media.

“He’s a real dude,” Williams said. “What you see is what you get, and I know that firsthand obviously because living with him, you see other sides of people rather than just everyday living.”

Taupaki shouted out his father after a reporter in the media room said they think it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a player do that after answering questions.

Just a few minutes before, he said he learned everything through his parents.

Taupaki said his parents are at an age where traveling is “not even in their books anymore,” making it difficult to get them to one of Penn State’s games.

Still, he was grateful for the opportunity to give his parents the chance to watch the Nittany Lions play the Thundering Herd and talk to them afterward on the phone.

“I was glad that they were able to see it for themselves [on TV],” Taupaki said. “... For my pops to have the chills about it, it hit different.”