Goodna to the Gridiron: Laki Tasi's unconventional journey to the NFL

By Rachel Gossen | Digital Managing Editor

Hailing from Goodna, Australia, Laki is the youngest of seven children in the close-knit Tasi family. Their parents immigrated from Samoa to Australia with a fierce determination to provide their children the best opportunities possible.

"It's always about family," Laki said. "My work ethic comes from them. They worked their butt off from the start and now, I want to do the same for them."

The Tasi household was centered around family, loyalty, faith and rugby.

Rugby isn't just a sport, it's a livelihood for the Tasis. Two of Laki's older brothers went pro, including Tautalatasi Tasi, who currently plays for the Houston SaberCats. The sport was so big in his family that it seemed his path to it was already paved.

"Seeing my see my brother on TV, [my parents] were very proud to see him on the TV," Laki said. "Like, 'Look, that's the main example that you've got to do once you grow up. That's what you got to look up to.'"

But Laki's journey to the pitch was far from scripted.

He didn't begin playing until age 12 – an anomaly by Tasi family standards. And when he did, it wasn't bravado that held him back. It was kindness. Towering over his siblings in both stature and spirit, Laki was a gentle giant, tipping the scales at over 450 pounds but with a tender heart.

"He picked up rugby union and rugby league pretty quickly, just because of his size," Lama Tasi, the oldest brother, said. "You know, just natural size. But, I think, he's probably too kind, you know, because he's so big he was scared that he's going to hurt people."

"I wasn't too serious on the sport," Laki said. "I was really unfit. Basically, just played 10 minutes at the game. It's like 60, 70 minutes full game. But I was playing 10 minutes max. I was so unfit."

Once he finished up school, he started clocking hours at a local warehouse, a job that felt more like a sentence than a stepping stone. The question loomed: Is this it?

A switch flipped in Laki, who wasn't about to be satisfied with the way things were.

"I think he realized, 'I can't keep living my life the way it is working in a warehouse,'" Lama said. "I think he realizes he was destined for bigger things."

Dawn shifts at the warehouse. Afternoon training. Late-night gym sessions.

Sleep became a luxury. Ambition, a necessity.

"I felt like, you know what, I'm just gonna press the press the gas, and obviously a straight full throttle on the career," Laki said.

The NFL's International Player Pathway program was established in 2017 with the initiative to find talented international athletes and grow the sport of American football globally. The 10-week training camp has produced NFL athletes such as former Raiders fullback Jakob Johnson (Germany) and Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata (Australia).

"I was speechless. I was about to cry, but there's no point of crying because I feel like I've done that work. You know?" Laki said. "I mean, like, I push myself hard. But the only thing that really got into my head was my family."

Having watched all of his brothers and sisters find success in different avenues, Laki wanted to be the next to set out and make his way in the world. However, leaving them meant crossing the ocean and being a 14-hour time difference away from the people he saw every day.

Though it was daunting, Laki's confidence didn't waver.

"I said to my parents, 'I don't know what to do in this career, but if I've got to do something, I might as well do it.' So, I just prayed and prayed to God and that was my answer to get through the football process."

His brother Sani Tasi put it simply: "It took him a leap of faith to step into the IPP program. Everything is happening so fast. The only thing with Laki, he's a type of person that once he has his mind set to something, he won't stop until it's finished. He will grind all the way. He loves to grind."

"I could never be prouder [for] him, what he's achieved," Sani added. "A lot of kids just tend to give up on their dreams, and he's proven that you can anything's possible if you just take the opportunity by both hands."

Slowly, steadily, through the grind of camp, he began to transform. His teammates in the trenches took notice.

"He's developed a bunch," Jordan Meredith said. "I mean, seeing him from day one, he's never played football before, so coming in and learning what a Ron-Lou is, or whatever the play call is, and then now, like he would go the wrong direction and now he's out there – you guys all watched the film probably or saw the game – just [to] see him go out there and dominate the way he did was awesome."

So much so that Carroll made Laki a game captain for the team's preseason opener in Seattle, a symbolic gesture for a player who, just months earlier, had never played a down of football.

"It was important to me to celebrate the fact that he's playing in his first football game in his life," Carroll said.

"The fact that he played in the game and did some positive things, that's a long, long ways to come," the head coach added. "Most of us played football when we were 10 years old. He started a couple months ago, and so it was exciting to see him do something and have fun out there, and I saw a little celebration after a good block. To me, it's a real treasure just to watch him just develop."

For his family watching from Australia, it was undoubtedly an emotional moment.

"He was trying to figure out and navigate what was for him, what is his purpose? What are those talents and gifts God's given him?" his sister Sia Tasi said. "And he's found that fortunately, and yeah, it's quite pleasing to see as a sister because you hope for the best for your siblings."

Though the NFL is not a world Laki grew up in awe of, he now can't imagine doing anything else.

"I thought I would be chasing rugby as a dream, but NFL just came out of nowhere. And I just thought, 'Why not?'

"I am falling in love with football, learning the game. I give so much respect to the players and how they do about their game. It just shows the love of the game. That's the main thing for me to do is just give back to the game. And you know, just say, thank you."