Oklahoma State University Athletics
Player Profile: Tolu Moala
November 02, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Nov. 2, 2010
By Amanda Brown
OSU Media Relations
He is one of the oldest players on the Oklahoma State football team with a family of four, and he is definitely an example to the other Cowboys.
And Tolu Moala, a senior linebacker, has had his emotional ups and downs throughout his football career.
Moala grew up in the Southern California city of Inglewood, which is a suburb of Los Angeles. When he was a kid, playing football was the thing to do. He watched his brothers play college football and his cousins play in the NFL.
"When I was growing up, football was a meal ticket for us to get an education. Being one of the younger ones and watching my family play, it was just the thing to do at the time," Moala said.
It was assumed that he would always play football in college, but life took him in a different route for a couple of years. Moala went on a two-year Mormon mission to Brazil, and he fell out of the football scene for a while.
"After I returned, I didn't want to play football anymore, and it wasn't until I saw my cousins playing at USC, Oregon and the NFL that I had that motivation again to play football," Moala said.
Moala was initially set to go to BYU, but due to entrance requirements, they released him. That's when former OSU defensive coordinator Tim Beckman, who is now head football coach at Toledo, recruited Moala to Stillwater.
Just before his senior season with the Cowboys, Moala suffered what was thought to be a torn ACL. He thought he was done for the season and his football career was over, and his heart dropped.
"I called my mom and dad and all my brothers and sisters to let them know that my career is done basically," Moala said.
At that time, the first thing that popped in his head was that he wanted to get into a coaching career. Shortly after the horrifying news of the torn ACL, he found out that he, in fact, did not have a torn ACL and was going to be on the field in a couple of weeks. He was on an emotional roller coaster and was filled with joy.
"I was still drugged at the time, and I had just woken up when they told me that I am good to go in a couple weeks. I was like `Whoa!' and I couldn't believe it," Moala said.
He then called his coach to tell him the good news.
"I really thought it was a blessing to have a second opportunity because you don't realize how important the game is to you and how much fun you have playing with the boys until it's actually taken away from you," he said.
Moala has a wife and two young daughters, two-year old Fili, and Elena, 11 weeks. Having a family, while playing football and being a college student, makes him a great example of someone to look up to on the team.
"I definitely think I am an example to the guys, and I also try to mingle with the guys knowing that I am older than most of them," Moala said.
He is also the only Polynesian on the team. Moala is fullblood Tongan.
With opportunities at large, Moala has several plans for post-graduation.
"It's always been my dream to play in the league (NFL), and I am definitely going to try and give it a shot," Moala said. "If it doesn't work out, my family and I will probably move back to the west coast to either Portland or possibly back to Southern California, and I would like to get into a coaching career."
