A very familiar surname is joining the Oregon State football program. Or, rejoining, as the case may be.
It was reported last week that Talite Moala has returned to Corvallis as an Oregon State football staffer. Specifically, Moala will serve as a recruiting assistant.
Moala confirmed the development on his personal Twitter account. While the Oregon State football program didn’t publicly announce the return, they did retweet Moala’s acknowledgment.
This will mark Moala’s second stint with the Beavers. From 2015-17, he was a defensive intern as well as a quality control coach on that side of the ball for Gary Andersen.
Moala, who played his college football at Portland State, graduated from OSU in 2019 with a degree in sociology.
Talite Moala is far from the only Moala with a connection to the Oregon State football team. An older brother, Tevita, played linebacker from 1999-2000 after beginning his collegiate career at a junior college and also serving a two-year LDS mission. A younger brother, Eric, was a linebacker from 2005-07.
In 2017, Tevita Moala passed away at the age of 37 following a five-year battle with cancer.
Two other Moala brothers, Fili and Tolu, played their college football at USC and Oklahoma State, respectively. Fili -- full name: Siaosi Toutoupau’u Moala -- was drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft by Indianapolis. The defensive tackle spent six seasons with the Colts before one year with the Houston Texans.
Additionally, former Oregon and Baltimore Ravens great Haloti Ngata is a cousin of the Moalas.
Oregon State is coming off a five-win 2019 campaign in Jonathan Smith‘s second season as head football coach. That marked the program’s most wins since hitting that same number in 2014 in Mike Riley’s last season. Earlier this offseason, it was reported that OSU is working on a contract extension for Smith, who has gone 7-17 in his two seasons.