Siaosi Toutoupau'u "Fili" Moala (born June 23, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft.
 Moala flashing the "Fight On" sign after a 2008 fall practice | |||||||||
| No. 95 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 23, 1985 Buena Park, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 308 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Western (Anaheim, California) | ||||||||
| College: | Southern California | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2009 / round: 2 / pick: 56 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editMoala was the only son in a five-child family and was not permitted by his mother to play football until high school; however he did participate in basketball and baseball.[1] Moala played high school football at Western High School in Anaheim, California, where he was teammates with Mike Iupati. As a senior in 2002 he was a Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Tom Lemming All-West and Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 selection.
College career
edit
Moala originally signed with the University of Southern California in 2003, but did not qualify for admission. He attended Cypress College for one year, but did not play football there, before transferring into USC. During his first year at USC in 2004 he was redshirted. In 2005 he started two games for the Trojans recording eight tackles.
During his sophomore season in 2006, Moala pushed for and eventually won the starting spot, starting the last seven games and received All-Pac-10 honorable mention.[1] He finished the season with 20 tackles, 2+1⁄2 sacks, and one fumble recovery. As a junior in 2007 he started all 13 games recording 33 tackles, 2+1⁄2 sacks, and was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
With the departure of top-10 draft pick defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, Moala was expected to step up on the Trojans' defensive line in the 2008 season.[2] In the off-season and into the beginning of the 2008 season, Moala suffered from back spasms that limited his time in practices; he did not register a tackle during the 52–7 rout against the Trojans' first opponent, Virginia, which ran a spread offense that did not emphasize the run.[3] Moala showed marked improvements in the following game against Ohio State, where he made a sack and contributed to a defensive line that had 6+1⁄2 tackles for losses, including five sacks.[4] Moala had a strong game against Arizona State, where he made three tackles, recovered a fumble, and blocked two third-quarter field goal attempts, tying the NCAA record for blocked field goals in a quarter.[5]
Professional career
editPre-draft
editEntering his senior season, Moala began receiving heavy media attention as one of the best defensive linemen going into the season and a potential top-2009 NFL Draft pick in early mock drafts, with ESPN's draft expert Todd McShay naming him a possible first pick.[6][7][8][9]
He was considered one of the best defensive tackle prospects for the 2009 NFL draft.[6][8][9] However, durability concerns let him slip to the second round.[10]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
305 lb (138 kg) |
5.07 s | 1.69 s | 2.90 s | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) |
25 reps | |||||
| All values from NFL Combine (no 20-ss, 3-cone because of left groin strain).[11] | ||||||||||||
Indianapolis Colts
editMoala was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft.[12]
Moala re-signed with the Colts to a one-year contract on March 4, 2013.[13] He re-signed with the Colts again on March 10, 2014.[14]
Houston Texans
editOn August 19, 2015, Moala signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans.[15]
Personal life
editMoala has been married to Jordan Moala since May 2009. The couple have five children, Litani, June, Anabelle, Faamika, and Ascieli, and they reside in Santa Ana, California.
Three of Moala's cousins have played at either Oregon State or Oregon: Tevita Moala (Oregon State, 1999–2000), Haloti Ngata (Oregon, 2002–2005), and Eric Moala (Oregon State, 2005–2006).[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Jonathan Kay, A Fili for his role, USCFootball.com, November 10, 2007, Accessed June 3, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, Lofty predictions don't impress USC football player Fili Moala, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein and David Wharton, Fili Moala ready to get physical, Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, USC's defensive line steps up its production, Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein and David Wharton, USC's Fili Moala won't block this out of his memory, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008.
- ^ a b Tony Pauline, Never too early: Here's a dozen first-round prospects for '09 draft, Sports Illustrated, April 29, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.
- ^ Matt Hayes, Ranking the BCS-conference players by position Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Sporting News, June 2, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Rivals.com 2009 NFL Mock Draft, Rivals.com, April 29, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Todd McShay, Defenders earn four of top five spots in first 2009 mock draft, ESPN.com, April 29, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.
- ^ "Fili Moala - 2009 Draft Tracker - SI.com". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
- ^ "Hall of Football".
- ^ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Alper, Josh (March 4, 2013). "Colts re-sign Fili Moala". NBCSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- ^ Alper, Josh (March 10, 2014). "Colts Re-Sign DE Fili Moala". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ Doughtery, Drew (August 19, 2015). "Texans add Quintin Demps and Fili Moala". houstontexans.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
External links
edit
- Indianapolis Colts bio Archived 2013-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
- USC Trojans bio