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A blessing in disguise.
That’s how Semisi Fakasiieiki describes the season-ending ankle injury he suffered the first week of training camp in 2021.
“I'm getting smarter with the defense and offensive schemes,” said the Purdue linebacker of a benefit to being a seasoned veteran.
Fakasiieiki is back, healthy and ready, sporting a tapered V-shaped physique as he looks to punctuate what has been one of the most interesting ever Purdue careers.
How interesting? Fakasiieiki is entering his seventh year as a Boilermaker.
You read that correctly. The 2022 season will be the seventh for Fakasiieiki at Purdue. This seemingly is unchartered territory. Fifth-year players are normal. And sixth-years are more common, with players like Boilermaker quarterback Aidan O'Connell exercising an extra season allowed by the 2020 Covid season to play a sixth year.
But, a seventh season?
“I saw dudes here (when I arrived at Purdue) that were here for five years,” said Fakasiieiki, who arrived in West Lafayette in 2016 as part of Darrell Hazell’s final recruiting class. “And I was like, ‘Oh, that's not gonna be me.' ”
Turns out, the 24-year-old Fakasiieiki has been all that and more, poised to be the ultimate graybeard for a Boilermaker linebacker unit that he’ll anchor along with sixth-year senior Kieren Douglas. So, Purdue could have two linebackers on the field in 2022 who have a combined 13 years of college experience.
"I think you always want experience, right?" said Douglas. "I mean, that's something that we both definitely have, to say the least. And, you know, I feel like that experience, and it's not just us, we have a lot of experience in the room, like I've said. And that definitely just helps. We're able to help the young guys, the young guys are able to look to us, me and Semisi and Clyde (Washington), Wally (Jacob Wahlberg) and O.C. (Brothers). That definitely creates a good dynamic in the room."
To truly appreciate the length of Fakasiieiki’s tenure, consider these facts from 2016, the year he arrived on campus from Dominguez High in Compton, Calif.
• Barack Obama was President of the United States
• Jeff Brohm was head coach of Western Kentucky
• The Kozuch Football Performance Complex was under construction
• Purdue true freshman QB Brady Allen was in seventh grade
• Ross-Ade Stadium had no lights
Another fascinating fact about the Boilermaker relic: Fakasiieiki is on his fifth linebacker coach. David Elson is the current coach. Last year, it was Brad Lambert. Before that, Bob Diaco led the spot. Before that, Nick Holt coached linebackers. And Fakasiieiki’s first: Marcus Freeman, who is now entering his first season as Notre Dame head coach.
“That's a lot of linebacker coaches,” said Fakasiieiki, who also has had five coordinators (Ross Els, Holt, Diaco, Lambert, Ron English). "But, when you really think about the defensive stuff, all the defenses are the same, right? They're just getting called something else. When you adjust to that, I feel like you're just looking at the same thing over and over again. The schemes stay the same, just a different name. You get to play fast after that once you get it down.”
Fakasiieiki is working at WILL and MIKE linebackers in camp, with WILL likely being his primary spot along with some special teams duties. He says he’s trimmed around 15 pounds from his 6-2 frame, checking in at 230 pounds. (A few years ago when he was playing LEO, Fakasiieiki said he weight around 270.)
“The one thing I know about Semisi is he's gonna go harder than everybody on the field,” said Elson. “And so, if he's a little rusty, that's OK, because he's gonna make up for it with his effort.”
Fakasiieiki knows no other way than to go hard … all the time. That never-say-die attitude has carried a player who redshirted in 2016, didn’t play a snap in 2017 and also missed 2021 as he rehabbed. What has helped carry him through?
“I want to say my family,” said Fakasiieiki. “Because, I came out here for them. And, you know, I've always been wanting to finish through. Something my family has always taught me. Whatever you do, you got to finish it. We're not quitters. So, that's what being Tongan is all about. We don't quit. We do everything 100 percent, finish through.”
When things get tough and doubt creeps in, Fakasiieiki reflects on his first season in West Lafayette.
“I look back all the time when I was with Coach Freeman,” he said. “I look back at my last meeting with him before he left for Cincy (Cincinnati). The last thing he told me was when he recruits, he doesn't miss. That just kind of stuck in my head all the way through.
“All these things I'm getting from all these different coordinators that I've had. They're all just sticking with me and just using them, taking them along with me, and just learning more. Coach Elson is a great coach. I’m learning from him now and I feel like we're ready to get off to a great start.”
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