How a simple piece of home keeps Washington State RT Fa’alili Fa’amoe grounded as he waits to return from injury

PULLMAN – Fa’alili Fa’amoe has a name for the get-togethers with the Washington State teammates he feels the closest to, with the group of guys he just calls the boys: Kava sessions.

Every so often, Fa’alili and his fellow Polynesian teammates will meet up and drink Kava, a beverage he grew up drinking in his native American Samoa, the region from which the drink originates. Fa’amoe and his crew will get shipments from offensive lineman Esa Pole’s family in Tonga, packets of the plant that the guys will put out in the sun to dry, smash it until it turns to powder, then mix it with water.

Fa’amoe says when he first moved to Pullman, he didn’t think he would find anyone who partakes in the nice and tasty drink – but for the 6-foot-5 redshirt junior, it’s less about the beverage and more about what it represents. It reminds him of home, he says, where he learned to cherish the values that shape him today.

Fa’amoe, who will retake his spot as WSU’s starting right tackle when he returns from his knee injury, hails from Leone, a village on the American Somoan island of Tutuila. Growing up there, he embraced four things: his culture, his faith, his family and football.

He admired his mother, who worked 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. shifts at a tuna cannery until a knee injury prevented her from continuing that job. He looked up to his father, a preacher, who instilled in him the value of taking Sundays as rest days. In seventh grade, when he took up football, Fa’amoe’s life began to look a little like it does today.

“We didn’t have anything,” Fa’amoe said, “but I had everything I needed for my success.”

As he built an attractive recruiting profile, he did so as a defensive tackle, drawing the attention of former Hawaii defensive line coach Ricky Logo. Fa’amoe was interested in Hawaii, but soon enough Logo and head coach Nick Rolovich took over at WSU, and the coaches brought Fa’amoe with them to Pullman.

In early 2020, Fa’amoe did take a visit prior to committing, taking a six-hour flight from American Samoa to Hawaii, another six-hour flight to Seattle, then an hour flight to Pullman, where he spent a few days on campus. Then he did the same routine to return home to the American Samoa capital of Pago Pago.

When he flew to Pullman to enroll in classes and start his WSU career, though, Fa’amoe had a little more trouble adjusting. For one, he was thousands of miles from home, which was enough to make him homesick for a few months. Plus, the coronavirus pandemic had shuttered the world, delaying the start of the Cougs’ 2020 season until November and wiping out other games along the way.

“At the same time, I was just going to keep in my mind I’m here for a mission,” Fa’amoe said, “and I’m going to stay in the course and don’t let anything distract me from achieving the goals that I came here for.”

Before long, Fa’amoe realized he would need to adjust those goals. Headed into spring practices in 2022, he got a text from WSU defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis inviting him to a meeting in his office. Fa’amoe was excited, figuring Kaligis was about to tell him he was in line for a bigger role this season, something positive.

When Fa’amoe sat down, Kaligis delivered the news: The team was moving him to offensive line.

“I was like, ‘Hell no. Get me out of here,’ ” Fa’amoe said. “ ‘I don’t want to be here no more.’ ”

Fa’amoe was so despondent that he didn’t show up for practice the next day, fighting the new reality and trying to accept it all at once. He needed time to process .

WSU coaches sensed Fa’amoe was off. So a day later, Kaligis and head coach Jake Dickert paid him a visit at his house in Pullman to discuss the move, to try and help see some silver linings.

“I told them, ‘I’m going to do it. I’m gonna give you guys my all,’ ” Fa’ameo said. “So the following Monday, I showed up, and I started practicing with the whole line. That first time, it was hard, transitioning from D-line to O-line, learning the new techniques, learning the offense and stuff like that. ”

These days, what’s hard is noticing Fa’amoe ever made the transition in the first place. Last season, he recorded a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 72 or better on six occasions, moving his feet and giving former quaterback Cam Ward time in the pocket.

When he returns from injury, Fa’amoe will do the same for new quarterback John Mateer, the Cougs’ backup in each of the previous two seasons. In the meantime, Fa’amoe might enjoy a few glasses of Kava.