Amid that disbelief, the celebration pouring out around him, Moala couldn’t help but feel emotional.
“To have been through what I’ve been through, and just to persevere and kind of put my faith in God and understand that my time will come, to have that [fumble] be such a big part of that play in the game, and be that involved – it was truly a blessing,” he said.
The play capped off a solid first half of the season for the 23-year-old Moala, who had a simple goal this fall: to prove he could produce at the Power-5 level where his career first began. His 5.5 tackles for loss are tied for the team lead, while his 2.0 sacks rank second behind defensive end Kyle Kennard. He’s also added two quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.
“Things don’t really rattle him as much,” defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer said. “I see him starting to be a little more vocal in the meeting room, on the field, talking, trying to coach the young players up.”
The 6-foot, 229-pounder was born in Salt Lake City, the third youngest of nine brothers and sisters to parents who emigrated from Tonga. Growing up, Moala says his mom and dad didn’t speak much English around the house, preferring to communicate with their children in their native Tongan. Paul – his full, Scrabble rack of a name is Pauliloaovavau Olahi Moala – understands the language well and can still speak some of it.
Not surprisingly, having a large family toughened him up early.
“Having siblings that are always competing for things allowed me to grow up and have that competitive nature to myself,” he said. He also gained some of that edge from his father, Pule, who played on the Tongan national rugby team in the 1980’s. As a nod to his roots, Paul sometimes makes T’s with his hands to signify Tonga after big plays.
The Moalas moved to Mishawaka, Ind., one town over from South Bend, when Paul was eight; the family was visiting his uncle over winter break and during their vacation, his father found a job there as a truck driver. Moala eventually grew into a three-star safety prospect at Penn High School, where his play earned him a scholarship from hometown Notre Dame.
(As a senior at Penn, Moala also started dating Maddy Wiseman; they’re now engaged, proving Moala has plenty of recruiting chops himself).
Moala cemented himself as a solid special teamer and reserve linebacker in his first two years at Notre Dame, highlighted by a recovery of an option pitch against Navy that he returned 27 yards for a touchdown. Then came the consecutive Achilles tears, which suddenly thrust his playing career in doubt.
“That’s what was going through my mind for that whole [2021] season,” Moala admitted. “And being told by coaches that maybe it was a sign for me to give up. It made me go against the grain. It motivated me to kind of push and fight against what people were thinking that I should do, and try to do what I wanted to do.”
But even Moala acknowledged that linebackers with two torn Achilles tendons don’t make for a hot commodity in the transfer portal. He found a lifeline across the country at Football Championship Subdivision member Idaho.
“They had Polynesian coaches. That’s all it was, honestly,” Moala said of the recruiting connection.
Moala enjoyed a redemptive season with the Vandals, earning second team all-Big Sky honors while providing a durable, do-it-all presence at linebacker. He tied for the team lead in interceptions (4), ranked second in tackles for loss (7.0), finished third in tackles (61) and recorded a pair of sacks and five pass breakups. His health and confidence had seemed to return.
Moala went through spring practice with the intention of returning to Idaho for his sixth and final season. As the spring progressed, though, an idea started to simmer. He had fought through two major injuries. He had already proven he could play at the FCS level. He had one last chance to finish his story in the Power 5.
Moala entered the transfer portal for a second time in late April. Back in Atlanta, Georgia Tech’s coaches were looking to add maturity and experience to a young linebacking corps. Before long, Sherrer and safeties coach Andrew Thacker were taking turns contacting Moala every day, trying to sell him on the merits of Georgia Tech’s defense.
“Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley – just seeing how much they succeeded here at this school, and be able to adapt to the playbook and play so well was really intriguing to me,” Moala said. An industrial design major at Notre Dame, he was also attracted to the strength of Georgia Tech’s academics.
Head coach Brent Key says Moala has been a steady, reliable veteran in the Yellow Jackets’ defense.
“Paul has improved every week, and you usually don’t see that out of a guy at that age, a sixth-year senior that still has that drive to continue to work to improve. But he has,” Key said.
