49ers draft Sopoaga
| • | Four ex-Warriors to sign free-agent deals |
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
After one day — and one sleepless night — former University of Hawai'i defensive tackle Isa'ako Sopoaga landed his dream job.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
After being snubbed in the first three rounds of the two-day draft, Sopoaga yesterday was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the eighth pick of the fourth round, the 104th overall selection.
Ex-UH defensive tackle Isa'ako Sopoaga — with his 4-year-old daughter, Marcia — got a call around 5 a.m. yesterday from the 49ers, who said he had been drafted 104th overall.
Saturday "was kind of a hard day," Sopoaga said, "but in my heart, I knew this would be the day."
Sopoaga, who was raised in American Samoa, said San Francisco is within easy reach for relatives living in Utah and Washington. "I'm very happy," he said.
Former UH player Jesse Sapolu, the 49ers' alumni coordinator, lobbied to draft Sopoaga. Sapolu said the 49ers had tried to trade for an extra third-round pick, which would have been used on Sopoaga.
But yesterday, the 49ers traded fourth- and fifth-round picks to Chicago, moving up eight places to select Sopoaga.
"This is a great day for San Francisco," Sapolu said.
Sopoaga will compete at nose guard in the 49ers' new 3-4 defensive alignment. When the 49ers use a four-man front in passing situations, Sopoaga will be the defensive tackle aligned across the center.
"He will play a lot for us," Sapolu said.
"I'm happy for him," UH coach June Jones said, "although I kind of thought he should have gone in the first or second round, actually."
Relatives from American Samoa and the Mainland had gathered at the 'Ewa Beach home of Eseti Tupuola, the family patriarch, to support Sopoaga during the draft.
When Sopoaga was not drafted Saturday, several uncles stayed up late with Sopoaga, trading stories and drinking kava. Sopoaga did not sleep at all.
"I wasn't tired," he said, "and I wanted to enjoy my family."
Shortly after 5 a.m. yesterday, the 49ers called. "They said, 'Congratulations, we're taking you,' " Sopoaga recalled. A few minutes later, his named appeared on the crawler at the bottom of the ESPN telecast.
"I feel good," he said, celebrating with a chunk of Spam Lite.
He then held up a hat made of woven coconut. "This is my lucky hat," he said.
An uncle made it for him a year ago. He wore it to classes and at the Senior Bowl all-star game in Mobile, Ala. "People wanted to buy it from him," said Jim Higgins, a former UH football player who serves as Sopoaga's adviser.
The hat is important, Sopoaga said, because a coconut "is life. You can use it for food. You can drink the milk. You can make clothes."
He recalled growing up in American Samoa, "when I couldn't afford to buy a football. We used a coconut for a ball, to play rugby or football. I won't forget that."
Sopoaga recently bought a Cadillac Escalade. He said he will use his signing bonus to help take care of his family. "That's a must guarantee," he said, clutching his coconut hat.
Later, his 4-year-old daughter, Marcia, was asked if there was anything she wanted.
"I want to hear a story," Marcia said to a video crew that has followed Sopoaga and other American Samoan athletes for more than a year.
Each took a turn. When it was his time, cinematographer Shawn Hiatt said, "Once upon a time, there was a football player named Sopoaga . . ."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
