College football has become a strange place. Players change schools like they are changing phone carriers. NIL deals have turned locker rooms into mini business offices. And somehow, Siale Taupaki is still in college football after eight seasons. Yes, eight!
At a time when most players are already thinking about retirement, the Penn State defensive tackle is still putting on the helmet and doing his job.
But there is a reason. And it is not because Taupaki simply cannot let go of college football. His reason is much more personal.
Taupaki is continuing to play because he wants to help his struggling parents. That makes his unusual college career a little harder to criticize.
“My parents are still struggling,” Taupaki told reporters on Tuesday, with the quote picking up steam as the week has gone on. “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.”
Normally, spending eight years in college football would raise plenty of eyebrows. People would probably ask if the man had accidentally forgotten where the exit was.
But Taupaki has a different goal. He is using the opportunity in front of him to help his family.
That puts a different spin on the whole NIL conversation.
The 25-year-old grew up in California after his parents emigrated to the United States from the Pacific island nation of Tonga. His story and background have struck a chord with many.
The Reading Eagle profiled Taupaki last month, noting his years of hardship from spending four years unhoused in Oakland, Calif. The family was evicted from their home when he was in seventh grade, and they had to leave a relative’s home later due to overcrowding. It forced them to go from hotel to hotel.
At one point, the Taupaki family, which includes three other children in addition to Siale Taupak, secretly lived in a church.
The journey left an indelible mark on him and the responsibility he’s taken for helping his family.
Taupaki was previously at UCLA before transferring to Penn State, and he was able able to spend seven years with the Bruins football program. Since he redshirted as a true freshman, he had an extra year of eligibility because of COVID and dealt with injuries.
He called the eighth season of college football a “big opportunity” for him to help his family.
“I really try to take advantage and take full advantage of the opportunity that I can with the platform because I come from nothing,” Taupaki 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’s story is a reminder that money can mean something completely different to different players.
For him, it is not necessarily about buying flashy cars or showing off on social media, it is about helping the people who supported him.
That is a pretty powerful reason to keep playing.
