Growing up in Australia, Faalele played basketball and rugby, two popular sports there that also crave large human beings. It wasn’t until Faalele was 16 years old that football found him.
While Faalele was working out at Conquest Athletic Performance in Melbourne, he was noticed by Hawaii offensive line coach and 13-year NFL veteran Chris Naeole, who offered him a football scholarship on the spot.
He also caught the attention of Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, who decided to hold a satellite camp in Melbourne with a watchful eye on Faalele, who still hadn’t even played football yet. After moving to the United States, Faalele attended IMG Academy in Florida. He spent one year learning the sport in practice before helping lead IMG Academy to an undefeated season in 2017, which brought on offers from all the biggest college programs.
Faalele was still raw, but he played in 10 games and started the final eight for Minnesota as a true freshman in 2018. He was a full-time starter every…