Siaosi Toutoupau'u "Fili" Moala (born June 23, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Southern California, and was drafted 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in the second round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth 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. T ...

Early years

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 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

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 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 6 ...

he was redshirted. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

he started two games for the Trojans recording eight tackles. During his sophomore season in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

honorable mention. He finished the season with 20 tackles, 2½ 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 ...

recovery. As a junior in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

he started all 13 games recording 33 tackles, 2½ sacks, and was an All-

honorable mention. With the departure of top-10 draft pick defensive tackle

Sedrick Ellis Sedrick Dwayne Ellis (born July 9, 1985) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was drafted by the New Orleans Sai ...

, 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, 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 defense horizontall ...

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, where he made a sack and contributed to a defensive line that had 6½ 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, 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. The entire ba ...

attempts, tying the NCAA 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

2009 NFL 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's draft expert Todd McShay 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. Moala was drafted by the

in the second round of the

Indianapolis Colts

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 (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Personal life

Moala 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).

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 California Sportspeople from Orange County, California American football defensive tackles USC Trojans football players Indianapolis Colts players Houston Texans players