It’s hard to argue that the addition of defensive coordinator Dave Campo to the Kansas coaching staff didn’t make an instant improvement to a KU defense that ranked dead last amongst FBS schools in 2011. But what his unit lacked was a steady pass rush presence in the middle of his defense.
That problem might be solved in 2013 with the addition of linebacker Samson Faifili—a stout 6-foot, 240-pound linebacker with a nose for the quarterback.
Faifili finished his 2012 season at American River Community College with 62 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss, and 5.5 sacks (half of Kansas’ team total from 2012).
“If there is one thing that I’m good at”, says Faifili, “its sacking the quarterback. I can’t go wrong doing that.”
But the road to becoming an FBS scholarship athlete wasn’t easy for Faifili, a native Hawaiian from Samoan decent, who had academic issues coming out of high school.
In fact, Faifili believed his football career was over after being informed by his high school coach that he was ineligible for college football. So Faifili did what most lost and disappointed high school graduates do: he started working.
Faifili made ends meet working odd jobs and giving guitar and piano lessons to friends but he quickly realized he missed football dearly and began inquiring about various junior colleges.
“After a couple of months I was like ‘I can’t be fooling myself’”, says Faifili. “Football is where I’m supposed to be.”
Pursuing a football dream wasn’t an easy road for Faifili after being out of football for several months but he eventually found a home at American River.
“I had $200 to last me a couple of months”, Faifili tells TheShiver.com. “I came to {American River} with $200 and a dream. After five practices I moved into the starting spot and never lost it”.
Faifili will join fellow linebacker transfer Marcus Jenkins-Moore and both are expected to be in the starting lineup for the Jayhawks come next September.
When we talked to Marcus Jenkins-Moore earlier in the week about playing with Faifili, he was very excited about the scenario of having both of them on the field at the same time.
“I’ve been watching his film like everyday”, Jenkins-Moore tells TheShiver.com. “I’m guaranteeing 7 wins”.
Though Faifili was a bit more reserved with his predictions, he did say he was excited about a set that included Jenkins-Moore at the BUCK position, with Ben Heeney playing MIC, and himself at the WIL position.
“I watched his film on my visit and was like man this kid is a beast”, Faifili said of his new teammate Jenkins-Moore. “So now I can’t wait.”
Faifili was also complimentary of Heeney’s breakout season in 2012 as well.
“He’s probably one of the most undersized and underrated MIC backers there are”, says Faifili of Heeney. “A lot of people look down on {Heeney} because he plays for KU and because he’s not as big as everyone else but he makes up for it by being a baller.”
Though Faifili is best suited at rushing the quarterback, he played all positions in the linebacker unit at American River and has great abilities in dropping back into coverage if needed. When watching film on Faifili, his toughness in the running game shows up as well.
“Coach Cross told me that the WIL gets most of the blitzes but then the BUCK gets more of the tricky blitzes like whenever he has a delay blitz”, says Faifili. “I just think it will be cool because there’s two of the top outside linebackers in JC football on the same team. That’s just asking for Coach Cross and Coach Campo to turn us loose. We can both drop back and defend the pass but we can also step up and give them a pass rush or stop the run.”
Though the confidence of early playing time was a big factor for the JUCO transfer who will have 3 to play 2, he says the allure of doing something special at Kansas was what sealed the deal.
“{Weis} said, ‘I’m not going to force it on you’ but he said ‘it’s really easy for you to pick Oregon State or UCS. You can go to a school with a winning tradition or you can come to KU and start your own tradition and help create a legacy and bring back what KU used to have’. It just means a lot for me to be able to go and help rebuild a program”.
But Faifili said he also felt at home in Lawrence when he came on his official visit and said despite growing up thousands of miles away in Laie, Hawaii that Lawrence made him feel right home.
“I went around with Ben Heeney on the second night {in Lawrence} and he showed me around. It was a nice town. On my way from Kansas City to Lawrence there was NOTHING. It was just a bunch of land. I was like ‘alright this is Kansas’. Then when we turned off the exit to Lawrence there was a town. I was like ‘where did this come from?’ I was expecting to see cows on the sideline and all that stuff. Even though it’s not the sport KU is known for the community wraps around that school. It’s a nice family oriented community. Coach Weis told me it’s one of the safest college towns in the nation”.
Faifili has given a strong verbal and will make his plan official in February when he signs his Letter of Intent and will be on campus for summer and fall workouts.
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