Senior Spotlight

TUI THE TITAN: Tuiasosopo represents family name with pride for Bobcats

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BOZEMAN, Montana — As his final spring game leading up to a delayed yet much anticipated senior season wound down, Taylor Tuiasosopo lingered behind. 

The instantly recognizable Montana State senior offensive lineman — Tuiasosopo is impossible to miss both because he is 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds with flowing dreadlocks and because of the energy he projects to those close to him — dropped to one knee in the center of Bobcat Stadium all alone. 

His teammates had just wrapped up a grueling session of spring practices in preparation for exactly nothing but the following fall. Tuiasosopo knelt in the middle of his home turf and spent a moment reflecting on everything he had been through over the previous year. 

From the loss of a mentor when head coach Jeff Choate bolted for Texas to the loss of his father, Titus Tuiasosopo, the standout offensive lineman has endured plenty to reach this pinnacle moment of his Bobcat career. 

Tuiasosopo has leaned heavily on his family throughout his 22 years, particularly the man who taught him how to compete at an elite level in the trenches while also instilling the values of the Polynesian culture that are so defining for a clan with a reputable name in the world of football. 

In that moment in the spring, just like before he takes the field in the last home game of his career this weekend, Tuiasosopo will think of his pops. 

“I think about my dad all the time,” said Tuiasosopo, who will start at right guard for Montana State against South Dakota State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday. “When he passed, one of the first thoughts through my head was, ‘Now what?’ 

“All the lessons that he taught me over 22 years, it turned into if I don’t go represent it well and show what I learned, that would not honor him and that would not honor our family and that would be my mistake. But he’s always in my head. I am always looking up to talk to him.”

His size, mass and hairdo are enough to make Tuiasosopo stand out in his hometown of Los Angeles, let alone when he moved to Bozeman, Montana. When Tuiasosopo first heard from former MSU recruiting coordinator Michael Pitre, “I asked him, ‘What part of Montana is Idaho in?” 

“And he was like, ‘you are a true L.A. kid. I was like, ‘if it doesn’t touch L.A., I don’t know about it.’ At that time, the only Montana I knew was Joe Montana,” Tuiasosopo said, followed by his confident laugh.

A connection with former Montana State defensive end Tyrone Fa’anono, one of a seemingly endless collage of cousins Tuiasosopo boasts across the college football landscape, initially convinced the prospect out of Paraclete High School to make an official visit to Bozeman years ago. 

Montana State offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 2018/by Brooks Nuanez

Tuiasosopo had a hard time acclimating to the rigors of college life in a small, cold mountain town more than a 1,000 miles and a world away from where he grew up. 

Through butting heads with Choate and former offensive line coach Josh Taufalele…through figuring out how to manage a college curriculum and a practice schedule…through a change in position coaches to the departure of a collection of teammates from his home area… through recovering from shoulder surgery… there’s plenty of reasons Tuiasosopo could’ve altered his course or been drawn back to his home. 

“If I had a nickel for every counseling session I had with Tui,” Choate said with a laugh. “I’m so proud of the kid. The Covid year, his dad passing, me leaving…there was a lot and I think he really grew up A LOT. 

“I think a lot of times, when you start being responsible for somebody else, that’s when you get your house in order, whether that’s a young adult becoming a father and realizing they have to change some behavior or like Taylor, I’m a leader on the team with my own baggage, but now I have to take care of this kid too.

“He’s a great kid who comes from a different place and there’s a lot of drama back home in Cali, always was, and for him to understand that at the end of the day, whether it was me or Josh Taufalele, (current offensive line coach Brian) Army (Armstrong) continually telling him, ‘Your problems here are not going to be as big as your problems back home. You want to help your family, stick here, stay here, stay safe, get a degree.’ Now he’s done it. And I think he’s having a blast. It’s an awesome story.”

Tuiasosopo was a first-team California All-state selection, an All-CIF selection and was chosen to play in the 2015 Polynesian All-American Game his senior year of high school. So after redshirting in 2016, he was ready to compete for a starting spot right away. 

He and Lewis Kidd, who came in a defensive tackle but quickly switched to offense, have provided the foundation for a rebuild that saw MSU win just four games in Choate’s first season in 2016 to 11 and counting for the second year in a row this season. Tuiasosopo started eight games as each a redshirt freshman and sophomore, helping pave the way for the league’s leading rushing attack each of the last three fall seasons in the Big Sky Conference. 

His sophomore year, the Bobcats made the first of three straight playoff appearances. Tuiasosopo’s junior year, he earned third-team All-Big Sky honors as an offensive guard as MSU surged to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1984. 

Now the Bobcats are back in the Final Four facing a perennial playoff contender in South Daktoa State, an opponent that employs a defensive front that MSU head coach Brent Vigen describes as “terrorizing.”

Montana State lineman Justice Perkins (R) and Taylor Tuiasosopo (L) in 2021/by Brooks Nuanez

“The days are long but the time is short,” said Armstrong, a Helena native who is in his fifth season as MSU’s OL coach. “These guys have heard that for a bunch of years and they have put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this program. We want to do everything we can to give (Tuiasosopo and Kidd) one more week, to give them one more game and I think everyone is rallying around that.”

Other than his all-league accolades, Tuiasosopo has never registered a stat other than a start. But the accomplishments of MSU’s offense, particularly when it comes to running the football, have been prolifc. 

In 2018, Troy Andersen moved to quarterback and broke every rushing record by a signal caller in school and league history. Andersen finished that year with 1,412 yards and 21 touchdowns, the latter breaking Don “The Iron Tumbleweed” Hass that had stood since 1966. MSU led the league with 238 rushing yards per game and 37 rushing touchdowns. Hass, a native of Glendive, is one of only four Bobcats to have his number retired.

In 2019, 23 different ball carriers helped MSU average 260 yards per game. MSU’s 3,841 rushing yards set a program record. Montana State averaged 6.3 yards per carry and scored 44 rushing touchdowns. 

And this year, Isaiah Ifanse has an MSU single-season record 1,579 yards while scoring 10 touchdowns. MSU is averaging 230 yards per game on the ground despite Ifanse and freshman No. 2 Elijah Elliott each battling bumps and bruises the second half of this memorable season. 

“I take humongous pride in running the ball,” Tuiasosopo said. “When I first came in, having guys like J.P. Flynn and Dylan Mahoney, they told us to have pride in everything we do. Seeing our team struggling, at some point, we had to do our best, live up to our abilities. Over the years, creating that standard for the offensive line room, it’s no slack, come in and work, keep your head down. 

“We rarely pay attention to stats but at the end of the year, getting to see all the accomplishments we had in a season for the past few years is always cool.” 

The football has always been the part that came naturally to Tuasisopo. Titus was an outstanding offensive lineman at Southern Cal in the early 1990s. From Marques Tuiasosopo, the All-Pac 10 quarterback who led the Washington Huskies to the 2000 Rose Bowl trophy, to a smattering of the last name across college football rosters, the surname is a recognizable one. 

He doesn’t refer to the responsibility to wearing the name on the back of his jersey as pressure but rather, pride. 

Montana State offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 2021/by Brooks Nuanez

Tuiasisopo has posted postgame pictures on his social media accounts with opponents that are also family members over the years. He almost always seems to have a relative when the Bobcats travel to Portland or Ogden, Utah.  He originally accepted the invite to visit Montana State to see Fa’anono “and to see snow for the first time.” He also found out former Montana State linebacker Koni Dole, a product of Huntley Project, was a cousin as well. 

For all the familiarity he’s been able to identify, cultivate and maintain, it’s the connections from people who grew up completely different from him that has fascinated the veteran offensive lineman throughout his time in Bozeman. 

“Chase (Benson) is from Helena, Troy (Andersen) from Dillon, me from L.A., Lewis from Minnesota and we have all learned to rely on each other,” Tuiasosopo said. “This time together has helped us all make it through.

“The experience is crazy and I always tell people, the worst thing you can do is come out here and not branch out, not try to know other people. I think back to my freshman year and guys like Chad Newell from Billings, Gunnar Brekke from Helena showing me what Montana has to offer. 

“For a lot of guys, they come out here and don’t have the best experiences because I feel like they are stuck in their ways and missing home. Getting to just know Montana more and having guys from in state show us different things to do around town, that’s been a fun part of this whole journey.”

During the 2016 NFL season, Colin Kaepernick started a movement by taking a knee. By the following fall, empowered football players at all levels started kneeling during the national anthem in protest social injustice. 

Even though Montana State does not stand on the field during the national anthem (most college football teams run out of the tunnel or onto the field after the anthem plays), Tuiasosopo and former MSU running back Edward Vander exited the locker room and knelt in 2017. 

The move received a certain amount of backlash, particularly from a local country radio DJ who criticized the protest on air. 

“It became a deal and it was bull shit,” Choate said. “He was ready to jump ship after that. For him to stick it out was pretty impactful. People get him now. He’s a free spirit. But people get him, that he has such a good heart.”

Tuiasosopo has mostly and most effectively played guard during his time at MSU. Saturday will mark his 40th career start. A few of those have come at offensive tackle, including one this year. He also has missed games for reasons other than injury, including getting suspended for a violation of team rules earlier this year against Eastern Washington. 

Montana State offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 2018/by Jason Bacaj – Skyline Sports

“Taylor has had a very good career here and played a lot of football and has had a great senior year,” Armstrong said. 

“We’ve had a lot of good times, some not so good times but these are awesome dudes that I will always have a relationship with,” Armstrong continued, referring to each of his two seniors. “I respect them immensely not only for what they’ve done on the football field but they have also been through some stuff personally (Kidd’s mother has battled breast cancer in recent years). And they have stuck it out.

“They have made the long run, which is admirable.” 

That longevity and that fire are part of what makes Tuiasosopo a top-level talent. Choate evaluates the offensive guard as a borderline NFL hopeful because of his athleticism and his versatility to potentially play multiple positions. 

The ride Tuiasosopo and his super senior teammates have endured has been one filled with success, like 35 victories, and the adversity of globally and individually enduring the last two years. That experience has helped each young Bobcat mature individually, Tuiasosopo said. 

He’s fallen in love with the beauty of the Gallatin Valley and the friendly locals who inhabit it. He’s closing in on a business marketing degree with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, but he wants to play football as long as he can. 

The memorable character has left a mark on the Montana State program for his many talents, including drive blocks and dance moves. And the experience as a Bobcat has left an indelible mark on Tuiasosopo as well. 

“Tough people win,” Tuiasosopo said. “Mental toughness is the key to success and grinding it out, bringing it, starting off with not being the best team and having a lot of people doubt you, being away from home as a young college student, you doubt yourself in a whole bunch of different ways, whether that is in the classroom or on the field, off the field. 

“And then you finally see all those seeds you planted starting to grow. It really makes it all worth it.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.

Montana State offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 2021/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State offensive guard Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 2019/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana State offensive lineman Taylor Tuiasosopo (51) in 201/by Jason Bacaj – Skyline Sports

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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