Junior To Watch: USC Bound Fili Moala

Juniors to Watch: Fili Moala.

School: Anaheim (Calif.) Western.

Position: Defensive Tackle.

Size and Speed: Fili stands 6-foot-6, weighs in at 295 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 5.0 seconds. He benches 295 pounds, squats 500 pounds and cleans 300 pounds.

Statistics: Moala fought through double and triple teams to account for 60 tackles and three sacks.

Honors: Fili was an all-CIF and all-league selection as a junior.

Favorite Schools: Moala made the brass at USC happy when he committed to Troy in late February.

The Skinny: Western head coach Toby Howell says, “Fili is a one of a kind football player. He is the best defensive lineman I’ve seen in a long time.”

Fili is a monster to block and is impossible to stop on the high school level. Moala has been the subject of constant double and triple team schemes by opponents so much that Howell is actually thinking about playing the talented big man at middle linebacker. “Fili moves around so well we have to play him at linebacker to counter all the double and triple teams that he has to fight through. Maybe this strategy will help prevent Fili from having to take on two to three players on every play.”

Moala is also a pleasure to coach according to Howell. “Fili has a tremendous work ethic and never misses a workout,” said Howell. “He’s the strongest player we have ever had at the school during my tenure as head coach.”

The Trojans get a solid player here with tremendous potential down the road. USC gets good here…