Moana Ofa has a clear inspiration in life and he has a clear inspiration in football.
“My father's been my biggest inspiration,” the 6-foot-4, 200-pound linebacker from Lehi, Utah (Westlake High School) said. “Everything he does in his life is aimed towards me and my brother. He makes us keep up on our grades so that we can have a chance to go to college. Everything he does relates to me and my brother Tre' and that just shows how much he believes in us
“When I have all the pressure riding on my shoulders he will take me out lifting, running and do the little things with me to help me get better.”
Ofa’s father's love of football was the main reason the Utah standout even got involved with the game, and back then Moana couldn't understand what the big deal was.
“My father has always been a real big football person so he kind of started me in it since I was born,” claimed Ofa. “He always had us going to camps and just playing the game all the time."
“My father's been my biggest inspiration,” the 6-foot-4, 200-pound linebacker from Lehi, Utah (Westlake High School) said. “Everything he does in his life is aimed towards me and my brother. He makes us keep up on our grades so that we can have a chance to go to college. Everything he does relates to me and my brother Tre' and that just shows how much he believes in us
“When I have all the pressure riding on my shoulders he will take me out lifting, running and do the little things with me to help me get better.”
Ofa’s father's love of football was the main reason the Utah standout even got involved with the game, and back then Moana couldn't understand what the big deal was.
“My father has always been a real big football person so he kind of started me in it since I was born,” claimed Ofa. “He always had us going to camps and just playing the game all the time."
Hoping to please his father, Ofa continued playing a game he had grown to despise. That changed once his physical attributes started to adapt.
"I can say that I honestly hated football up until about ninth grade," stated Ofa emphatically. "I shot up to about 6-foot-2 my freshman year and during that football season, I had around seven defensive touchdowns. That caught Utah's eye because I'd been going to their camps and Utah State also started paying attention.
“The first game of my freshman year is probably when I realized I had a chance to be something in this game. In that game, I scored two defensive touchdowns and had around eight sacks for the game. I had never really played with kids in my age group it was always the older kids I played with.”
Up until that point, Ofa dealt with his own doubts along with his peer's.
“I mean I honestly wasn't very good at football until that year," he confessed. "People knew I wasn't very good, but all those people that didn't believe in me can't say anything now.”
Due to his newfound success, Ofa currently holds offers from schools like Utah, Arizona, BYU, California, Colorado and Nebraska.
“I believe my first verbal offer came from Utah,” claimed the Utah standout. “I think it was after my freshman year that I received that will. Then my sophomore year, I started receiving the big offers and that just showed me that all my hard work was paying off.”
Ofa is still learning how to balance the recruiting process and realizes that it probably won't get any easier anytime soon.
“Recruiting is kind of a mix between good and bad,” he said. “When you get all the letters from the coaches from schools like Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, Notre Dame and you see all those schools you look up to, you can't help but get excited. At the same time, at some point, you have to choose between all those schools you idolize and that makes it really difficult.”
Due to his newfound success, Ofa currently holds offers from schools like Utah, Arizona, BYU, California, Colorado and Nebraska.
“I believe my first verbal offer came from Utah,” claimed the Utah standout. “I think it was after my freshman year that I received that will. Then my sophomore year, I started receiving the big offers and that just showed me that all my hard work was paying off.”
Ofa is still learning how to balance the recruiting process and realizes that it probably won't get any easier anytime soon.
“Recruiting is kind of a mix between good and bad,” he said. “When you get all the letters from the coaches from schools like Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, Notre Dame and you see all those schools you look up to, you can't help but get excited. At the same time, at some point, you have to choose between all those schools you idolize and that makes it really difficult.”
It may be difficult now, but it's a problem he's happy to have.
