And so he became the first Moloka'i Farmer to earn a Division I scholarship. He knew right away that he would become a Wildcat. I came up here and got an offer and I knew right away." "Coach Tui helped me a lot," Seumalo says. Seumalo committed to K-State in November 2021. K-State recruiting director Taylor Braet and the coaching staff welcomed Seumalo to Manhattan. "Uso wasn't a starter at Garden City, and I'm sure people thought we were crazy in talking to a guy who wasn't even a starter," Tuiasosopo said, "but I watched Uso in high school and he had unbelievable tape." He also received offers from UNLV, Jackson State, Akron and Incarnate Word. K-State offered him a scholarship in August 2021. He had 47 tackles and five sacks over his two seasons with the Broncbusters. He was rated the 31 st-best overall community-college prospect in the Class of 2022 and the second-best at defensive tackle by ESPN. There he would listen and learn and become a defensive tackle. Seumalo ended up traveling to Garden City Community College. "Coach," Seumalo said, "I don't know how to play real football. He asked Seumalo why nobody was recruiting him. One day, he received a phone call from K-State defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo. He earned first team all-conference honors and was selected to play in the All-Hawai'i Bowl. "It was like backyard football," Seumalo says. He played some quarterback and tight end in addition to being a disruptive defensive standout. But there were cheers, big cheers whenever Seumalo touched the football. They played their football games on a green field with painted white lines, first-down markers, and a scoreboard with red numerals that sat on the ground. Moloka'i High School played eight-man football. I went out for the team and ended up here, somehow."Įxcept there's more to the journey. Let me go out.' I told them, 'I promise I'll work on the farm more after practice.' "I begged my parents from the beginning of summer because they were starting summer workouts," Seumalo says. Figures that he'd also strap on a helmet. He earned honorable mention all-state honors in both sports. "That kid loves to play football, and he's a really good football player."Įventually, Seumalo talks about his senior year at Moloka'i High School, how he begged his parents, Vaai and Naomi, to let him play football. "That smile," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says. Want to know a player who, when healthy, dominated K-State fall camp? It's the young man with a smile. He has big hair, a big heart, and a big appetite for tackling opposing quarterbacks. He's a Kansas State senior defensive tackle. It was simple."Įventually, Vaai "Uso" Seumalo talks about football. "In the middle of a big, vast land," he says. He talks about how much he loves his native island, a paradise with lush, green fields, so far away. He talks about being the son of a farmer and how he worked the farm that produces coconut, cocoa, ulu, bananas, taro and kalo. To start, he loves Maunaloa, Moloka'i - his home - a tiny, plantation village up in the hills and above the western coast near two big beaches. You ask Uso Seumalo to talk about his journey.
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