For Alaskans, the journey to Division I football follows many paths

Many paths lead Alaskans to Division I college football — signing straight out of high school, taking the junior college route, joining a team as a walk-on and, most rare, transferring to an Outside high school to gain exposure.

Lui Fa'amasino's journey landed him at a crossroads in 2015.

He had bounced from a preferred walk-on at Division I Idaho to a junior college in Arizona but hadn't discovered a place where he fit, both as a young man and a player. His mother Tina, his rock, had recently died from stomach cancer. He was adrift, and so was his dream.

Maybe he should just bag it, return to Anchorage, find a job and get on with life.

Maybe a college scholarship and Division I football were fantasies.

Some other guys his age from Anchorage were playing community college football at Los Angeles Harbor College. They tracked him down and said their program needed players. And Fa'amasino was a player, a two-way force instrumental in West High's march to the 2013 Alaska large-school state championship. Still, Fa'amasino, at this point still in Arizona, knew little about LA Harbor, even less about Los Angeles.

LA Harbor, or the end of the line? He slept on it. He prayed on it. And he thought of his mother, who always wanted him to seize his dream — college scholarship, college degree — because it was also her dream.

"I said, 'You know what? I'm going to take this chance,' " Fa'amasino recalled. " 'All gas, no brakes.' I kept thinking about my mom. This was nothing compared to what she went through. She was always there for me, and it was kind of my way of giving back to her. I was honoring her.

"Giving up, that's the easiest thing to do. So, work hard, don't give up, don't look back."

So Fa'amasino packed his humble belongings, boarded a crowded, hot Greyhound bus from Arizona to Los Angeles and chased his dream.

He played two seasons at linebacker for LA Harbor and earned his associate arts degree in social and behavioral sciences.

And Wednesday, he signed his National Letter of Intent to play Division I football at New Mexico State, where he already is enrolled.

Joining Fa'amasino in the Division I ranks was his LA Harbor teammate and former Dimond High defensive lineman Ezra Tu'ua, who signed with Texas Christian University last week. Brandon Pili, a defensive lineman who will graduate from Dimond High this spring but played most of his senior season in Portland, Oregon, parlayed exposure there into signing with the University of Southern California. And Eielson defensive lineman Chris Kilpatrick signed with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

At least a dozen more Alaskans last week signed to play at lower college levels, all the way from Division II down to NAIA.

For several Alaskans with Division I dreams, their varying journeys, like Fa'amasino's, eventually delivered joy.

Books before ball

College football coaches can scout potential recruits by watching them play live — granted, that doesn't happen often in Alaska because college and high school seasons align, and, well, geography.

But they can also evaluate a player by viewing his highlights online on Hudl, a video-sharing site, or watching him in an offseason camp.

They can spot talent. They can see whether a player passes what West coach Tim Davis calls the "eyeball test." What they can't see is whether a player constantly in on the on-field action is similarly engaged in his studies.

Invariably, Davis said, college coaches who contact him first want to know about a player's grades and test scores — "Is that kid a competitor in the classroom?"

To be eligible for Division I sports out of high school, the NCAA essentially requires a player to own at least a 2.3 grade-point average, complete 16 core courses and earn a minimum SAT or ACT test score calculated on a sliding scale relative to GPA.

Like many coaches, Davis and his staff preach the necessity of good grades. It's pragmatic — good grades mean more eligible players for the Eagles, but also more players who achieve well enough academically to qualify to play college sports.

Fa'amasino said his high school coaches, teachers and counselors at West High were essential to his journey in his last two years of high school, when he improved academically.

"I had no time to play around," Fa'amasino said. "Those last two years, I had great support from family, coaches, teachers. To be honest, without the support I had there, I wouldn't have the opportunity I have."

At Bartlett, co-coach Daniel Esparza said he and his staff monitor players' grades throughout the school year and check grades eight times per school year.

The Golden Bears for years have employed mandatory study hall for football players who fall below a certain GPA. Esparza and company started out with 2.0 as the minimum for each quarter of school, and have constantly raised the minimum, which now stands at 3.17.

"We keep raising the number, and the kids keep meeting it," Esparza said. "We are heavy on academics. And it's not necessarily just for kids to play in college. We want all of our kids to walk out of here prepared for college, and life.

"I think at Bartlett our emphasis is less on football than kids doing something with their lives after they graduate."

Former Bartlett star running back Ethan Falaniko, who is a redshirt freshman at Division I South Dakota, said the emphasis on academics at Bartlett, where he achieved strong grades, helped lure recruiters.

When he wrote to college coaches, Falaniko said, his grades "were probably the first thing I mentioned and the last thing I mentioned."

Falaniko said his mother, Niusila, took online college courses when he was in high school — "I called her my study buddy." Encouragement from his family, and from Bartlett coaches and teachers, helped him reach his Division I dream.

"That was big for me," Falaniko said. "I knew I had their support, that they weren't just thinking of me as a football player. Coaches, people who helped motivate me, paved the way for me."

Falaniko is majoring in business and said he earned a 3.2 GPA his first semester of college. That is plenty good enough to remain academically eligible. More importantly, it's a solid start toward his ultimate goal — a college degree, which will outdistance his football career.

"At the end of the day," asked West coach Davis, "are you doing this just to play football, or are you doing it to get an education to take better care of your family?

"The scoreboard turns off pretty fast."

The outlier

When Brandon Pili attended a football camp at the University of Washington last summer, he said coaches there liked what they saw from him and suggested more colleges would be similarly intrigued if he played in the Lower 48.

"They said I was hidden in Alaska," Pili said. "I figured if I drew interest from the No. 4 team in the nation (Washington), I could draw interest from a lot more schools."

That's when Pili opted for a plunge relatively few Alaska players take. After playing one game for Dimond in the fall, he moved to Portland, Oregon, to live with a cousin of his father, Billy, a longtime youth coach, and transferred to Westview High School.

Leaving family and friends was difficult, Pili said, but his new teammates were welcoming and eased his transition.

It took all of one game for Pili to believe he made the right choice. Days after the defensive lineman racked 13 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery, Oregon State offered Pili a scholarship.

"It was really surprising, and really humbling at the same time," Pili said.

Suddenly, recruiting sites touted him as a three-star prospect, and offers kept coming — Colorado, Hawaii, UCLA, Notre Dame, Oregon, Central Florida, USC. Suddenly, Pili, who said he didn't have any offers after his junior year, enjoyed options aplenty.

Pili signed with USC. He said he felt comfortable with the school's coaches and with other recruits he met on a visit, and he liked his academic options — he's thinking about majoring in business. Plus, he's a fan of warm weather.

Pili said he would encourage others to take his path if they have the opportunity, as long as they understand that it requires sacrifice.

"If you're really serious about, do it," he said. "I've seen it first-hand — people don't take Alaska football seriously enough. My suggestion is that if you can do it, do it.

"But also do the other things, contact coaches, tell them where to find your film and use Twitter to get the word out."

The grinder

Ethan Falaniko rushed for 2,053 yards and 33 touchdowns in nine games in 2015, his senior year at Bartlett, and state coaches voted him large-school Player of the Year.

He was a tackle-breaking power back who almost never went to the turf upon first contact and always seemed to drive forward for extra yardage.

And he proved just as driven in school, and in pursuing his biggest dream, a Division I scholarship. Falaniko said he start receiving recruiting emails the summer before his senior year, but he did not just let college recruiters come to him. He also sought them out.

Falaniko said he emailed numerous coaches, sent them links to his highlights on MaxPreps.com and hudl.com, and always made it a point to emphasize his academic achievements.

"You have to do your part, not just on the field, but off the field," Falaniko said. "Anybody from anywhere can play."

Falaniko's talent and persistence delivered his dream — Division I South Dakota flew him in for a recruiting visit and eventually offered him a scholarship, with both athletic and academic aid.

He likes the college town of Vermillion — the university is by far the city's biggest employer — and loves that the school has an accredited business program. He also quickly found a spiritual home at Hillside Community Church.

His family has moved to nearby Minnesota — father Eti is in the Army and was transferred from Alaska — and friends and family attend colleges in neighboring states.

"It's been great," said Falaniko. "It's all been very fast. I've seen a lot of shocked faces when I say I'm from Alaska.

"I just try to get after it every day. I'm a dude from Alaska."

The walk-on

As an undersized athlete from Alaska — 5-foot-8, 178 pounds — Bartlett's Jordan Pace encountered plenty of naysayers when he announced his intention to walk-on at a Division I football program.

His coaches were not among the negative.

"We said, 'Go, give your dream a shot,' " Bartlett co-coach Esparza said.

Pace's family — mom Yvette, father Kelvin and older sister Avante — likewise supported him.

"They inspired me," Pace said. "They never doubted me."

Doubters inspired him too.

"Lots of people said, 'You can't do it,' " Pace recalled. "I told myself, 'I'm going to show people I can.' I feel like the big part of it was mental more than physical. You have to be determined."

After Pace attended a football camp at Oregon State in the summer of 2015, prior to his senior season with the Golden Bears, the Beavers became his target. He liked the coaching staff, enjoyed the campus and felt a connection to Corvallis.

Pace frequently emailed the Oregon State staff and last fall was invited to a walk-on tryout that included 20 to 25 players. He was one of three who made the cut, albeit with the caveat that they had a two-week trial period to prove themselves.

"On the inside, I was ecstatic," Pace said. "But at the same time, I didn't want to get too excited. Every day was a trial. Everything I did, I did fast, did my best."

Pace, who is majoring in psychology, passed the trial and spent his first season as a redshirt freshman, first working at defensive back and then moving to running back. His goal next season is to get playing time on special teams and in two seasons get playing time at running back.

He's chipping away at his dream.

"You have to have a positive mind-set," Pace said. "A lot of praying, a lot of belief.

"It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you get up every day believing you will accomplish your goal, one day you will."

The dreamer

When Fa'amasino arrived at LA Harbor in 2015, he spent the first week at a coach's house, alternating with another new player between sleeping on a couch and snoozing in a sleeping bag on the floor.

Soon, he moved into an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment with several other players, including teammates from Alaska. At one point, Fa'amasino said, there were seven players living in the apartment. They slept beneath blankets on the floor. Sometimes a "meal" was a protein shake. The toilet seat was broken.

"So many big dudes in there," Fa'amasino said. "We had a unique situation, but we stuck together."

Such humble living — no dorms, no training table, no luxuries — is one of the tests of junior college football, and it thins the ranks, said Davis, the West coach.

"You have to endure a lot without people holding your hand," Davis said. "You have to have this tenacious ability, that tenacious independence, to see your goal and go get it."

After his freshman season at LA Harbor, Fa'amasino said, he received some offers from Division II schools and feelers from lower-level Division I programs.

"I told myself, 'Something's happening here,' " Fa'amasino said. " 'If I keep grinding, keep turning it up a notch, there's possibilities here. If I have another good year, another season, I can get somewhere.' "

After Fa'amasino's second season at LA Harbor, he said, Arizona State, Hawaii, Texas El-Paso and New Mexico State were among schools courting him. New Mexico State, where he took a recruiting visit, won.

"They were persistent and consistent from the word go," Fa'amasino said. "I wanted a place that really wanted me. With them, I was going to be a factor in their program, not just a piece."

Before he started classes last month at New Mexico State, Fa'amasino returned to Anchorage and spoke to students at West and at Romig, his old middle school.

"I wanted to inspire them to follow their dreams," he said.

Fa'amasino followed his. His path to Division I football was long and winding, and difficult, but he endured.

"It's really possible," Fa'amasino said. "It takes a lot of hard work, but it's not impossible.

"I'm still grinding. On my (recruiting) visit, I saw guys' names on a wall, guys who were All-American or won awards, and I thought, 'I want to leave my mark here.'

"I don't want to just partake. I want to take over."

Alaska football signings

Here are some Alaskans who recently signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football. Coaches and administrators who know of additional signings are encouraged to email information to sports@alaskadispatch.com

Bartlett

Trey Kingsland, Western New Mexico University

Jerome Afe, Fort Hays State University

Dimond

Brandon Pili, University of Southern California

Ezra Tu'ua, Texas Christian University (via Los Angeles Harbor College)

East

Saevon Dinkins, Howard University (via St. Charles, Maryland)

Eielson

Chris Kilpatrick, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Lathrop

Jordy Smith, Waldorf University

Soldotna

Kyle Marcuson, Eastern New Mexico University

Aseli Finau, Eastern New Mexico University

West

Lui Fa'amasino, New Mexico State University (via Los Angeles Harbor College)

Noah Christy, Central Washington University

Justin Tovio, Eastern New Mexico University

Rapi Sotoa, Eastern New Mexico University

Manase Asi, Eastern New Mexico University

West Valley

Josh Cummings, Western State University

Jake Foshee, Oklahoma Baptist University