Siaosi Toutoupau'u "Fili" Moala (born June 23, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, and was selected by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the second round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

Early life

Moala 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.Jonathan Kay
A Fili for his role
USCFootball.com, November 10, 2007, Accessed June 3, 2008. Moala played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Western High School in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, 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

Moala originally signed with the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 2003, but did not qualify for admission. He attended

Cypress College Cypress College is a public community college in Cypress, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and belongs to the North Orange County Community College District. It offers a variety of general education (55 associat ...

for one year, but did not play football there, before transferring into USC. During his first year at USC in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

he started two games for the Trojans recording eight

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

. During his sophomore season in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Moala pushed for and eventually won the starting spot, starting the last seven games and received All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

honorable mention. He finished the season with 20 tackles, sacks, and one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recovery. As a junior in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

he started all 13 games recording 33 tackles, sacks, and was an All-

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.Gary Klein
Lofty predictions don't impress USC football player Fili Moala
''Los Angeles Times'', August 25, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008. 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 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, which ran a

spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the offense horizontal ...

that did not emphasize the run.Gary Klein and David Wharton
Fili Moala ready to get physical
''Los Angeles Times'', September 11, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008. Moala showed marked improvements in the following game against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, where he made a sack and contributed to a defensive line that had tackles for losses, including five sacks.Gary Klein
USC's defensive line steps up its production
''Los Angeles Times'', September 17, 2008, Accessed October 15, 2008. Moala had a strong game against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

, where he made three tackles, recovered a fumble, and blocked two third-quarter

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempts, tying the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for blocked field goals in a quarter.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.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Entering 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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's draft expert

Todd McShay Todd Marshall McShay (born March 22, 1977) is an American football television analyst and commentator. Early life McShay attended North Shore Christian School in Lynn, Massachusetts and then Swampscott High School in Swampscott, Massachusetts, ...

naming him a possible first pick.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
, ''Sporting News'', June 2, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.Rivals.com 2009 NFL Mock Draft
Rivals.com, April 29, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008.Todd McShay
Defenders earn four of top five spots in first 2009 mock draft
ESPN.com, April 29, 2008, Accessed June 3, 2008. He was considered one of the best defensive tackle prospects for the

. However, durability concerns let him slip to the second round.

Indianapolis Colts

Moala was selected by the

in the second round of the

. Moala re-signed with the Colts to a one-year contract on March 4, 2013. He re-signed with the Colts again on March 10, 2014.

Houston Texans

On August 19, 2015, Moala signed a one-year contract with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Personal life

Three of Moala's cousins have played at either

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

: Tevita Moala (Oregon State, 1999–2000),

Haloti Ngata Etuini Haloti Ngata (; born January 21, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, earning consensus All-American ho ...

(Oregon, 2002–2005), and Eric Moala (Oregon State, 2005–2006).

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moala, Fili 1985 births Living people American people of Tongan descent People from Buena Park, California Players of American football from Orange County, California American football defensive tackles USC Trojans football players Indianapolis Colts players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Pacific Islander American players of American football