Fa’amoe Finds Home at Wake Forest

In a football career that's been full of adversity during both high school and college years because of injuries and position changes, Fa'alili Fa'amoe took charge as he entered his final season of eligibility, choosing to transfer to Wake Forest over plenty of offers from multiple more traditional college football powers.

"It was more about who was going to take care of me better," Fa'alili said about his decision to follow former Washington State head coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest. "I could go to any other schools, but how would I know they would take care of me compared to here? I know pretty much all of the coaches, so I know what they can do for me and the team. That really affected my decision to come here."

The opportunity to reunite with offensive line coach Jared Kaster was a massive selling point for the 6-foot-5, 314 pound right tackle.

"He's the man," Fa'alili said. "That's why I came here; I wanted to play for him. I've only known him for a year now—last year was his first year at Washington State. I really liked him, and I'm looking forward to building that relationship with him.

"For me, he's not just a coach; he also talks about personal stuff. He checks in on you, asks about your family, how you're doing in life, and things like that. That really stands out to me."

After committing to Wake Forest as one of the most highly coveted transfer prospects of the offseason, Fa'alili arrived on campus in January and started bonding with his new Demon Deacon teammates.

"The last couple of months have been pretty smooth," he said. "The transition wasn't hard. It wasn't like I was a freshman anymore; I'm a senior now, a super senior, so everything is flowing pretty well at the moment. I got to know some of my teammates. I came in with Devin (Kylany), so at least I knew someone, which made it easier for me, especially with my coaches. I know pretty much all of the coaches, especially my offensive line coach."

Getting involved in football for Fa'alili meant going with his father to watch his older brother practice, then becoming the water boy and eventually trying out for the team.

"I fell in love with the sport, and I've just kept going from there," he said. "Football is not just like any other sport; it takes a lot to play football—the energy and mindset it instills in you. That's why I love football."

Injuries impacted Fa'alili during his sophomore season of high school, and then as a freshman at Washington State. Not only did he have to navigate the pandemic, but also needed surgery that kept him off the football field.

It was an injury to his teammate early in his senior season at Leone High School (Pago Pago, American Samoa) that led to quite an interesting position change.

"My senior year, our starting quarterback got hurt after the first game," Fa'alili said. "There were no other people who could play quarterback, so they moved me to quarterback, and I played quarterback the whole season and maybe 20 plays on defense each game."

He was recruited as a defensive lineman, but during spring camp of the 2022 season, after playing in just one game the year before, the staff asked him to move to the offensive line. The potential change had Fa'alili questioning nearly everything.

"When they moved me to the offensive line, I was pretty upset," he said. "I came here to play defense, and now they were moving me. It was hard at first. When they moved me, I missed the next day of practice — I didn't show up. I told them I wasn't going to do it."

But Dickert Peter Kaligis (now Wake Forest defensive tackles coach) showed up to Fa'alili's doorstep to chat.

"I eventually told them I would do it; I would play offensive line," he said. "From then on, I put my heart and soul into this position. I wanted to be better at it. That's how I got to where I am right now. I focused on what I wanted to achieve.

"It was really about building trust within our relationship. I trusted them to make that move back then. I also talked to my dad about it and prayed a lot about it, which helped me make that decision."

As he reflects now, Fa'alili realizes that having an understanding of both sides of the line is a huge advantage as he works to negate the techniques used by defensive linemen against him.

"Having played defensive line for a long time and then moving to offensive line, I know what those guys are going to do, what moves and techniques they're going to use on runs and passes," he said.

The early months of the Dickert era saw a focus on building their culture in the program, as they became connected — blending a large group of returning Demon Deacons, true freshmen getting started, and the largest group of transfers in program history.

"Usually, when you go to a new place, it takes time to fit into the culture and tradition," Fa'alili said. "But when I got here, it was a different story. My teammates welcomed me with open arms and started conversing with me right away. It wasn't like, "Who is this guy? I don't want to get to know him." Instead, they were genuinely trying to get to know me. My goal for this year is to build as many relationships as I can with my teammates and get to know them as much as possible.

"I would say the connectedness we're going to have—Coach Dickert is going to build that coach-player relationship. I'm expecting a more connected team because that's what we believe in—connected teams."

When asked to describe his blocking style to fans who might not have seen him in action before, Fa'alili quickly said "violent."

"It's all about doing your job—just doing your job and knowing what to do," he said. "When you can do those two things, you can be as violent as possible on the line, and that's what Coach Caster wants us to do. His main focus is to be the most aggressive lineman in the entire nation. To achieve that, you have to know what you're doing and understand your role.

"I would just expect a more violent offense. We're not going to spoil the fun for the 2025 season. Just let them wait and see what we're all about."

Players Mentioned

Fa’alili Fa’amoe

Wake Forest Athletics