Sione Takitaki – Noteworthy
Sione Takitaki’s invite to the NFL Scouting Combine has come at the end of a long and bumpy road. It’s an achievement lined with faces who believed in him, a cadre of allies who never gave up on the mercurial, complex kid. The combine runs from Feb. 26 through March 4. The portion that includes linebackers such as Takitaki will be Sunday. The Takitaki story is one of inspiration. He’s a guy who could have fallen off the rails several times, but ended up earning a tremendous chance to better his résumé this weekend.
Back in high school, Takitaki collided with structure and struggled at school. He came to BYU hoping to find more support and be around positive people who could influence his decisions. But even then, he tripped up within weeks on campus, getting in a dorm fight that led to a suspension for a few days. Takitaki was suspended again for breaking a team rule and was later dismissed from the team following allegations of theft of gear as a campus custodian in 2016. Eventually, he made his way back and became a team captain last August as a senior. His 19 tackles in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl were the most by any player during the 2018 bowl season. After that performance, Takitaki was invited to the Senior Bowl, then the NFL combine in Indianapolis.