Why Siale Taupaki Is Playing His 8th Year of College Football at Penn State

STATE COLLEGE | Siale Taupaki walked into the Beaver Stadium recruiting lounge with a spiral-bound notebook, a blue-ink pen, a lead pencil and a copy of Joshua Medcalf’s book “Chop Wood, Carry Water.” The Penn State defensive lineman had taken notes on chapter three, which evaluated the impact of a single inch or simple choice.

Taupaki specifically wrote down the quote, “Choices are very easy to make … Just as easy not to do those things,” which represents how he lives.

Taupaki’s story is unconventional, and he's among the most intriguing of Penn State's 40 transfer players on its new football roster. The 6-3, 335-pound lineman transferred to Penn State after spending seven years at UCLA. He didn't grow up with football, though the game changed his life and provided him with an opportunity to pursue a college education.

Taupaki enrolled at UCLA in 2019 but did not play and earned a bonus season of college eligibility in 2020 because of COVID. He then missed most of the 2021 and 2022 seasons due to injuries, including breaking the fifth metatarsal in his right foot twice.

Taupaki spent his first four years at UCLA without technically using a season of eligibility. He never considered his injuries to be “downfalls” but rather “a little pause.” He’ll complete his college football career this season at Penn State with Matt Campbell.

“When I did start getting the groove back fully, I was like, ‘You know what? I owe this to myself,’” Taupaki said. “I’m just owing it to myself at the end of the day because it’s something that I truly deserve that I finally got to see first-hand. And that’s another reason why I came to Penn State, because I wanted to not just grow physically and mentally, but also spiritually."

'I just wanted to be a blue-collar kid'

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Siale Taupaki speaks with reporters at Beaver Stadium. | Amanda Vogt/Penn State on SI

Taupaki’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Tonga, a country located in the South Pacific He grew up in Oakland, California, his parents primarily speak Tongan and football is still new to them.

His father is a retired construction worker, and his mother works as a senior caregiver. While other kids grew up playing Pop Warner football, Taupaki worked with his dad fixing houses and building decks before going to school. Then he met his mom after school at her job.

“I wasn’t working with them because I wanted to be what they wanted to be,” Taupaki said. “I was working because I was carving myself to be the man that I want to be, or I need to be right now.”

Taupaki calls home after every football game, speaking to his parents in their Tongan. But he doesn't call home to talk about football. He’s a son first and takes great pride in the work and sacrifices of his parents.

“Seeing them use up all their time, the last spare change, effort, air, energy, I wanted to make it up to them,” Taupaki said. “I told my mom, ‘You gotta wait a little bit longer,’ but she always said, ‘Whatever makes you happy, I’m happy.’ And I’m glad that my parents understood. But aside from that, I wouldn’t try to bring the football stuff to my parents. They’re busy doing other stuff.”

Taupaki was 17 when he started playing football. He had no idea what an “offer” was and no idea how a scholarship could change his life.

“I just wanted to be a blue-collar kid, that’s all I wanted to be, same thing my parents were doing,” Taupaki said. “But when [a coach] said that it was able to pay for everything from the school, housing, food, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’”

Taupaki didn’t tell his parents at first, but then the recruiting process became more serious, and he left California with his family to visit other schools. Taupaki translated most of those conversations, but his parents were more concerned to see how each team and staff treated him.

“My pop, he’s an observer, he’s a man of no words, or barely any,” Taupaki said. “So he just sat there analyzing body language and tone of voice. That was the two biggest things that I learned from him when observing somebody. So that’s how he learns that the conversation is either good, bad or funny.”

'All about culture'

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

English was Taupaki’s first language, but he lstarted learning Tongan at age 3 by reciting Bible verses in church. He always seemed to have an old-soul side.

“I was always the kid that was always around the older folks,” Taupaki said. “I found it more amusing to be around the older folks because I got to learn the language faster.”

Taupaki said he takes great pride in his last name appearing on television and putting his family “on the map.”

“I’m a first-generation [American], and most guys in my shoes don’t know how to speak the native tongue,” Taupaki said. “And from that, my pops has always reminded me that if you don’t know the language, the culture is going to die out. There's already not a lot of [Tongan people] in America. So imagine not learning the language? And that was something that pretty much interested me, because if God blessed us to be Tongan, why not embrace the culture?”

Taupaki played in 40 games over seven years at UCLA, including seven as an offensive lineman in 2023. At UCLA, Taupaki was coached by Ikaika Malloe, who also made the move to Penn State as the defensive line coach and run-game coordinator. In 2023, D’Anton Lynn, Penn State’s new defensive coordinator, also coached Taupaki, so there’s familiarity in the coaching staff.

“[Malloe is] a father figure; he always keeps me grounded,” Taupaki said. “I was talking to my parents about him a lot, and they love what he’s done."

In his first two months at Penn State, Taupaki has experienced some of the university’s culture. The team attended the men’s hockey game in Beaver Stadium, and he was impressed by how many fans showed up despite the cold.

“They say football is simple, but it’s not easy, and I just need some of the team or some of the folks to understand that we’re gonna have to fight to get that W, not just for us but for those who are watching,” Taupaki said of the fans. “Coach Campbell also preaches about the past. He emphasizes how much those before us have left the foundation and, where we are at now, we can make it a little better.”

Breaking bread

At 24, Taupaki is the elder on Penn State’s roster. He embraces that role and welcomes teammates to approach him. Taupaki started his note-taking habit about a year-and-a-half ago. It’s one of the many he picked up over the years. When you’re about to enter your eighth season of college football, you're bound to know what to do to be successful.

“I put myself in their shoes because that used to be me,” he said. “I used to be the guy that always wanted to do everything, experience everything, but it definitely caught on to the point where it was just like sometimes you have to sit back. Sometimes guys come to me for advice, and I forget that I’m the older guy because we’re busy breaking bread like this, and then there are some guys that just really need life lessons and I just try to offer what I know based on what I’ve seen, what I’ve experienced.”

As Penn State continues to mesh returners, former Iowa State players and additional transfers, Taupaki initially noticed the shyness and stepped up to bring everyone together.

“When I noticed the little tension in the air, nobody wanted to talk, [I said] ‘Hey, come to me guys, we all have to be together,’” Taupaki said. “It’s football at the end of the day, and football is a team sport. There’s no ‘I’ in team, you know, and so I try to talk to a different guy every day, learn about them and really just, we’re Penn State now.”

Embracing the challenge

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

Taupaki has finally crossed snow off his bucket list. The winter weather in State College was certainly an adjustment, but having one more opportunity to play college football makes it worth it.

“I get told a lot, ‘Man, you should have tied up your cleats, you should have gotten a job,” Taupaki said. “I’m not going to take offense to it or anything, but you weren’t there behind the closed doors. You weren’t there getting injured, you weren’t there having to do the rehab, you weren’t out there putting in the time.

“So everybody has narratives and stuff, but you have to understand if this is my only plan, I’m going to work to it until I get there. Sometimes having a backup could be a fallback, because the drive is not the same versus having that plan, and you’re more driven. But I don’t try to think like that. Just where my feet are.”

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