Meet the Eighth-Year Defensive Lineman Transferring to Penn State

Siale Taupaki joins the Nittany Lions after seven seasons with the UCLA Bruins.

UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Siale Taupaki (92) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Rose Bowl. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

After spending seven years at UCLA, Siale Taupaki is journeying East to Penn State for his eighth year of college football. He is among 29 players (through Jan. 9) transferring to Penn State to play for Matt Campbell and two assistant coaches with whom he is familiar. Taupaki also has one of the transfer group’s more interesting stories.

An East Oakland, California, native, Taupaki signed with UCLA in June 2019 as a 3-star prospect. He did not play during his first three seasons with the Bruins, planning to use his first season of eligibility in 2022. However, that year he played in just two games and received an NCAA waiver, allowing him to retain four seasons of eligibility.

Taupaki (6-4, 310 pounds) played on both the offensive and defensive lines at UCLA. In 2023, he saw action in seven games as a reserve offensive lineman before switching to defense in 2024. That year, Taupaki made seven starts and played in all 12 games, totaling 23 tackles, including a sack.

This past season, Taupaki appeared in all 12 of UCLA’s games, making one start against Indiana. He played mostly as a reserve defensive lineman, making 15 tackles and a sack. Through seven seasons at UCLA, Taupaki played in 40 games, 33 on the defensive line, and finished with 38 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks. 

Taupaki is filling a significant depth need for Penn State, which is piecing together its first roster under Campbell through the transfer portal. He also is quite familiar with two new members of the coaching staff.

D’Anton Lynn, who is returning to his alma mater as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, coached Taupaki at UCLA in 2023 when he was the Bruins’ defensive coordinator. Lynn held the same role at USC for the past two seasons. 

Ikaika Malloe, Penn State’s new defensive line coach and run-game coordinator, arrives at Penn State after nearly four seasons at UCLA, including most of the past two as the Bruins’ defensive coordinator. Having played for Lynn and Malloe is an advantage for Taupaki, who will be part of Penn State’s rebuilt defensive line.  

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Penn State prioritizes defensive linemen in the portal

Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) is chased by Utah Utes defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi (98). | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State is remaking its defensive line, having lost 14 players to either the transfer portal or to exhausted eligibility. Of the 29 inbound transfers, six are defensive linemen.

Taupaki joins fellow UCLA defensive tackle Keanu Williams, who committed to the Nittany Lions earlier this week.

Like Taupaki, Williams also played under Lynn and Malloe. Williams has ample experience, having made 10 starts in 2023 and 11 in 2025. In 2024, he started UCLA’s first two games before missing the rest of the season with an injury. 

Iowa State’s Alijah Carnell, Oklahoma State’s Armstrong Nnodim and Utah’s transfer Dallas Vakalahi are Penn State’s other defensive tackle portal pickups so far. Colorado edge rusher Alexander McPherson is headed to Penn State as well.

Carnell and Nnodim are both redshirt freshmen, the youngest of the defensive line transfers. Carnell played in 11 games for the Cyclones in 2025 as a reserve defensive lineman and Nnodim made 11 tackles and recorded a sack for the Cowboys. 

Vakalahi comes to Penn State with two years of eligibility remaining and has played in 17 games, making three starts as a true freshman in 2024.

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