Grandfather leaves lasting impression for UNLV’s Taumua

By Rob Miech

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008 | midnight

Malo Taumua kept touching the red welt on the inside of his right forearm during the UNLV football team’s flight home Saturday night from Phoenix.

A few hours earlier, the sophomore defensive tackle from Hawaii had blocked a field goal in overtime to clinch the Rebels’ shock 23-20 victory over 15th-ranked Arizona State.

He wore the welt like a medal, hoping it never would wear off. By the end of practice Sunday, the indentations left by the laces and tip of the ball were nearly gone.

Every minute of the flight, Taumua listened to the song his cousins composed in honor of and as a tribute to Taumua’s late grandfather.

Tanu Taumua, the patriarch of the family, was born in Samoa. He moved to Hawaii at a young age but never fully grasped English. He was religious. He had been sick for a few years and died in April of natural causes at age 86.

In the first verse of the song, Malo Taumua’s cousins sing about what Tanu meant to them. In the second, they thank God for their grandfather.

“I had a smile the whole way back,” Malo Taumua said. “He helped raise me. I was a naughty kid when I was younger. He kept me in line a lot.

“The last time I saw him, I told him I felt I wouldn’t see him again. I said, ‘I know you will be in a better place. I will just be happy when you go to your better place.’ I don’t think he understood me.”

Alex Mauga, a freshman defensive back at UNLV who grew up with Taumua half a mile from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, knew Tanu Taumua. Mauga sees and hears a lot of the grandfather in Malo.

“That’s where Malo gets his energy,” Mauga said. “Malo is always happy and he uplifts everyone else, just like his grandfather did. I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day.”

That spirit solidified Malo Taumua as a leader at UNLV long before his sterling play Saturday night clinched one of the program’s biggest victories.

During the dog days of practices in triple-digit heat or the doldrums of a 2-10 season, like the one the Rebels slogged through a year ago, a guy like Taumua is invaluable.

That’s why his teammates couldn't stop high-fiving him after he bulldozed through Arizona State’s line and thwarted kicker Thomas Weber’s 35-yard attempt.

“He’s just an uplifting guy,” Mauga said. “He’s a great football player and a great guy. He helps us in study halls, and you can always turn to him with a problem.

“Especially in the heat, he’s always happy, cracking jokes and making the whole team laugh. He’s just happy about practicing. And he’s a real soft-hearted person.”

Taumua heard those comments and nearly blushed.

“It means a lot to me that people think of me like that,” he said. “Last year we didn’t have much of that, I guess, last year. People have fed off my energy and positiveness, and everyone cheers each other up.

“I feel like I’m a leader. I’ll put everyone on my back. Let’s go.”

Mauga and his older brother played football with Taumua -- and any other stragglers -- on the grass, and basketball and tennis courts, at Halawa District Park in Honolulu.

At Aiea High, Taumua was a much-feared long snapper who often beat his teammates downfield to make solo tackles.

“He’d hit the guy like there’s no tomorrow,” said Mauga, who was persuaded by Taumua to come to Las Vegas. “Nobody wanted to block him. He was a free man down there.”

Taumua, 21, is a bit older than most sophomores because he took a while to achieve minimum test scores necessary for collegiate eligibility.

UNLV coach Mike Sanford was at Utah when he and fellow Utes assistant coach Keith Uperesa tried to woo Taumua to Salt Lake City.

When Sanford took the top spot at UNLV, he hired Uperesa and they stayed on Taumua.

Most important, Sanford said, Taumua is a great kid.

“I feel like he’s one of my sons,” Sanford said. “He has an unbelievable motor. He plays hard and loves the game. Our team loves him. He’s probably one of the hardest workers on the team.”

When Taumua lined up for the pivotal field goal, he remembered the Sun Devils’ previous extra-point attempt. The lineman across from him ducked down and to a side, trying to take out his legs.

At the snap of the overtime attempt, Taumua simply brushed that foe to a side and rushed in untouched to block Weber’s kick.

“It took my breath away,” Mauga said. “It stunned me. I was watching him the whole play. I was screaming my butt off. I’m still excited. He’s one of the guys NFL scouts should be watching.”

Taumua blanked out. He said he doesn’t remember the five minutes immediately after the game. Then he kind of awoke under a dog pile of teammates.

His maternal grandmother, Evelyn Martinez, called from Honolulu to tell him how thrilling it was watching the game and how she nearly had a heart attack after seeing him block that kick.

Several coaches reminded Taumua of all the work it took just to get to UNLV -- how determination and will mean everything.

Taumua smiled.

His grandfather was on his mind.