Story by
Reading Eagle, Pa.
Penn State’s Siale Taupaki overcomes years of hardship to pursue his dream
- Story byReading Eagle, Pa.
- Penn State’s Siale Taupaki overcomes years of hardship to pursue his dream
Siale Taupaki carries a pen and usually a notepad wherever he goes, jotting down ideas, thoughts, feelings and advice from others.
He's also an avid reader who could write a riveting autobiography about the many life experiences he has endured and survived.
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Taupaki, a 6-4, 326-pound defensive tackle, is about to begin his eighth season in college football, his first at Penn State .
He has overcome spending four years being unhoused in Oakland, Calif., sharing morsels of food with his family, breaking his right foot twice, missing almost two full seasons, changing positions twice, wanting to quit the sport and providing for his family.
He's aware that some might pass judgment on him without knowing him or his story.
"When you go through so much, you owe it to yourself to keep going," Taupaki said. "I'm resilient. I see a lot of articles and podcasts. Those are people I've never met. I can tell that some of that stuff isn't genuine.
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"If you understand and you take the time to come out and talk to me, then you would know why I'm still trying to be in it. Because of the injuries, I still feel like there's something left on the table."
He decided to transfer from UCLA to Penn State for several reasons, including the presence of defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe, who mentored him with the Bruins, and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn, who was on the UCLA staff in 2023.
The chief reason why he's in State College goes beyond being with familiar faces.
"To come all the way out to PA, I did it for my sanity," Taupaki said. "I needed a fresh start mentally, physically and spiritually. I feel like if I needed to do something like that, I needed to get out here.
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"I'm surrounded by good people, great energy and a great atmosphere. I just have a warm feeling. I want to continue to have that rather than the rage and the fire. Speaking down or creating bad energy, I don't like that stuff."
Taupaki has been a positive force since he arrived at Penn State in January, one of 40 transfer players on the reshaped roster. He noticed there was some tension on the team in the first month or so. The same groups of guys would be eating together at the same tables.
Taupaki helped break the ice.
"One day, I said to myself I'm going to eat with the specs (special-teamers)," he said. "When people saw me with them, they came over and asked, 'What are you talking about?'
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"I'm not going to try to talk with the D-line guys every day because I'm with them every day. I'll go break bread with the O-line guys, try to crack a couple jokes, see where they're coming from and hear their stories."
His story began in Northern California as the son of Kolo and Seilose Taupaki, who had emigrated to the United States from Tonga. He's a retired construction worker and she's a senior caretaker. They had 10 children, including three who are younger than Siale.
English is his first language, and he often served as a translator for his parents. He would go to work sites to help his father fix houses and build decks or meet his mother after school at her job.
Even though his parents both worked, they were evicted from a home when he was in seventh grade. The Taupaki family later got kicked out of a relative's home because of overcrowding and then bounced around from hotel to hotel in the Oakland area. His father often would share a sandwich from work because money was scarce.
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"It was kind of crazy because it seemed so normal," Taupaki said. "I was used to carrying a backpack with all my stuff in it. We were always on the go. My parents always told us it was only going to get better from there."
No longer able to afford the cost of staying in a hotel, Taupaki, his parents and four of his siblings sought refuge in a room in their church in East Oakland unbeknownst to the pastor.
"He didn't know until one Sunday my brother left the door open," he said. "Kids walked in and saw us all. I didn't want it to get to that point. The pastor felt sad about our situation and we were able to stay."
Four years after first being evicted, the Taupaki family moved into a home, where Kolo had done work and where a prospective buyer had backed out.
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"I'm absolutely amazed by what he's overcome," Malloe said. "If you did not know his story, you would think that he's a jolly, fun guy. You see him walking around with a smile on his face, not knowing the hardships he went through.
"When you understand that, you have a way better appreciation of him."
Taupaki began playing football at Oakland High School, even though his parents knew very little about the sport. He played well enough to be selected to the All-State second team as a senior and to receive a scholarship offer from UCLA, even though he initially didn't know what it meant.
He enrolled in June 2019, weeks after his high school graduation, and didn't see playing time that season. He played in seven games on the defensive line during the shortened 2020 season, but all NCAA athletes received a COVID waiver.
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He still had four seasons of eligibility remaining, but he missed the entire 2021 season after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his right foot for the first time. He recovered and played in the first two games in 2022 before he broke the same bone again and missed the rest of the year.
Taupaki was understandably dejected. Malloe said "it almost shattered all of his dreams."
"I just asked myself, 'Is this it? Is this all I got?' " Taupaki said. " 'Is God challenging me? What's worse? Death? Whatever.' That's how I looked at it. My mom and pop kept saying it would make my story more interesting.
"It's crazy. When I speak about it, people are like, 'Wow!' That's life, right? Isn't that how life is supposed to be? Not everything is supposed to be good."
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Taupaki, though, didn't like moving to the offensive line for the 2023 season. He had a cousin who was a UCLA defensive lineman and who would bring him to dinners at Malloe's house. Taupaki's cousin asked Malloe if he could help move him back to defense.
Once Taupaki made the switch, his outlook changed.
"After that, it became fun for him," Malloe said. "Then the window opened for me to teach. Once he started to learn how to play defense again, you could see him slowly climbing and realizing he could really do this.
"We had a conversation at my house. We were both in tears. I told him, 'For everything you went through, I'm going to give you everything I got.' "
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Taupaki played in all 24 games for UCLA the last two seasons, including eight starts. When new Penn State coach Matt Campbell hired Lynn and Malloe, they landed Taupaki and former UCLA teammate Keanu Williams in the transfer portal. They're expected to start at tackle in the opener Saturday against Marshall.
"I didn't think I was going to get him here," Malloe said, "because he takes care of that whole family in the Bay Area. He started here with a clean slate. You can really see that nothing will stop him. His perspective on life should be everyone's. He sees every day as an opportunity. He doesn't take it for granted.
"It amazes me because there are people who could be in the same situation and they would say, 'I'm good. I'm done. I can't take this anymore.' You can put him in any situation and he'll find a way to make it better. He's the energy giver."
Now 25, Taupaki dreams of joining fellow Tongans in the NFL, such as Indianapolis defensive end Laiati Latu, Washington linebacker Ale Kaho , Las Vegas guard Atonio Mafi and Dallas defensive tackle Jay Toia .
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First things first, though, He has another chapter to write this season. His many tribulations might be behind him, but they have toughened his will to succeed.
"I'm used to adversity," he said. "I don't think about that stuff anymore. I don't want people to be sad for me. Stuff happens. I was never a fan of pity. It's all part of my story, like my parents said."
