Tupai gives Cougs mayhem in the middle

Rien Long left big shoes to fill in the middle of the Cougars' defensive line when the 2002 Outland Trophy winner turned pro a year early. Tai Tupai is handling the challenge.

Tupai (pronounced "TOO-pie-ee") has been the 320-pound inside anchor on a defensive line that is getting mentioned as one of the nation's best.

"When we lost Rien Long, we gained Tai Tupai," said Cougars coach Bill Doba.

Actually, Tupai had been around. He just usually hadn't lived up to his high-school clippings since arriving in Pullman in the winter of 2000 as one of the most trumpeted recruits in Cougars history. He was graded a national top-100 prospect by some publications.

He started six games as a true freshman and 12 as a sophomore in 2001 in the Sun Bowl season, but only one last year, when he was hampered by foot and back injuries and excess weight. Jeremey Williams grabbed the starting job and wouldn't let go. This year, Williams and Tupai are playing side by side.

Doba's theory — which Tupai doesn't contradict — is that once Long entered the NFL draft, Tupai gained extra motivation to reclaim the starting job and also to improve his own draft status.

"He's got a chance to make some money at this game if he continues to improve," said Doba, who calls Tupai's turnaround this year "a very pleasant surprise."

Tupai, the son of a minister, said he "made a decision that I really wanted to help this team."

That meant working harder to improve after a season in which he had a one-word description of his performance: "disappointing."

It also meant pushing away from dining tables.

Doba said Tupai and Josh Shavies, who rejoined the team last spring after quitting, regularly worked out on off days at 5:45 in the morning to get stronger, improve flexibility and lose some extra weight. At times last year, Tupai was hauling around about 350 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame.

"Ever since I've been here, the coaches have always been on me about weight," he said. His secret to weight loss: Eating six small meals a day.

Tupai still has plenty of bulk but now has improved agility and senior savvy that makes him one of the Cougars' most effective weapons against the run. He can create a logjam at the line of scrimmage by occupying two or three blockers. His stats — 10 tackles and half a sack — aren't showy, but he ties up blockers so teammates can finish the job.

"I don't care who gets the glory as long as we win," he said.

The defensive line composed of ends Isaac Brown, D.D. Acholonu and tackles Williams and Tupai calls itself "The Firm." It combines four different personalities.

"That's what I like so much about football," he said. "Different guys from different backgrounds coming together for one purpose."

Tupai isn't the only member of his family to wear a Cougars jersey. An older brother, Junior, was a backup wide receiver and is in graduate school at WSU, as is their sister, Helen.

Junior rarely played, but he even got Huskies to cheer for him last year when he played the national anthem on a saxophone before the Apple Cup. After he had hit the final notes perfectly, Cougars personnel on the field hugged Junior as if he had just scored a touchdown.

Tai (pronounced "tie") was in the locker room, but later saw the performance on video.

The Tupai family is musical. Father (Seaula) is a minister, and his children sang and performed in church. Seaula plays drums, trumpet and dabbles at piano.

The family moved to Pullman from Monterey, Calif., after Tai, whose full first Samoan name is Faafetai, became a Cougar.

His mother, Tina, works for a Pullman bank.

The lineman lives at home in Pullman and enjoys spending time with his two brothers.

"I'm not the party kind of guy," Tupai said.

Perhaps not, but he is the kind of guy who creates mayhem in the middle. Long may be gone, but while Tupai has his way, the middle of the WSU defense remains an unfriendly place.