Maika Matelau 'plays loud' on Illinois offensive line

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Aug. 22—CHAMPAIGN — Maika Matelau has made a strong impression on his Illinois football teammates and coaches the past eight months.

Not so much for what he's said.

The sophomore offensive lineman admits he's "not much of a talker."

What Matelau has done on the football field locking down his starting spot at left guard, though, speaks volumes. Does all the talking for the 6-foot-3, 305-pound junior-college transfer.

"He's definitely on the quiet side, but when you go out on the field, he plays loud," Illinois center Jake Renfro said. "He's that physical, nasty guy. He's everything you want in a guard."

"Come off and hit somebody in the mouth, that's what he does well," freshman offensive lineman Champ Smith added. "He's a quiet guy, but as you get to know him, he's a very cool dude."

Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller couldn't put it any better. The running joke in the Illini offensive line room that Matelau is quiet everywhere but in the way he plays his position sticks for a reason.

"That's a great way to say it — kind of speak softly and carry a big stick," Miller said. "He's very sharp for a guy that hasn't played major college football. He's picked up our offense really well. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes mentally.

"He is quiet, but will open up. He told a joke the other day in the meeting room, so that was pretty awesome to see. You're getting to see glimpses of his personality as he's becoming more and more comfortable."

Matelau's first eight months in Champaign have nearly doubled his college football experience. The 22-year-old out of Ontario, Calif., took a different path to the Big Ten and not just in his single season at Mt. San Antonio College in California, where he became the No. 1-ranked JUCO interior lineman with a bevy of power-conference offers.

That lone season with the Mounties came after Matelau didn't step foot on a football field for two years. He followed his high school graduation at Upland (Calif.) with a two-year mission in Tonga with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Serving the mission was always Matelau's plan. Even if it put his football career on hold.

"I feel like if I were to go straight from high school to college, it wouldn't have been an easy process for me," Matelau said. "I think those two years were able to help me build my character and also build my mentality. That's always been my plan since I was a kid. I wanted to experience it."

Serving the mission in Tonga was part of the draw. Matelau was born in California, but his parents, Lisa and Sai, are from Tonga. Several of their siblings and one of Matelau's grandmothers still live there.

"We would always talk on video chats, but to go over there and see how life is down there and experience that was amazing," Matelau said. "I felt really welcomed. It was something new, but it was good to catch up with my culture and also be rooted in my family and finding that part of me.

"Going out there and putting away two years of my life helped me be more humble. In my approach to football, it built my mentality of never giving up. I also learned a lot about Jesus Christ and how he saved my life and the lives of everyone here."

That background — so different than the rest of his fellow Illinois offensive linemen — is important. Miller regularly talks with his group about what motivates them.

"We talk about what drives guys, what their 'whys?' are and what they fight for," Miller said. "That's a big part of this unit. Maika certainly uses his to become the player he is and the man he is.

"His faith is very important to him, and I think you have to have something like that. You have to have something that centers you, that grounds you, that motivates you, that gives you strength and courage."

Matelau returned to California from his mission trip having lost nearly 100 pounds. It took real work with Mt. SAC offensive line coach Phill Ramirez re-learning the position, in addition to an emphasis on nutrition and strength and conditioning, to get back into football form.

The end result was obvious. Matelau helped the Mounties go 10-2 with an offense that put up 472.8 yards and 43.1 points per game. Teams in every power conference came calling, including Michigan State, Nebraska and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.

"Taking two years off of playing and going back into it was a little tough, but having a coach that really supported me made the process easier," Matelau said of Ramirez. "I had a few moments where I was like, 'Man, this is a lot harder than I remember.' But just having that experience of going out on a mission and doing something new and then coming back, I felt like I couldn't give up on it. That was my main driving force.

"I always wanted to go play Division I college. Balling out in JUCO, once I started getting Big Ten offers, I knew this was the league for offensive linemen to go to the NFL."

A path to the next level is part of what Matelau saw in Illinois. A total of 10 former Illini were on NFL rosters when training camp started at the end of July, and eight of them played for Miller. Illinois coach Bret Bielema's history developing offensive linemen stretches back even further to his teams at both Arkansas and Wisconsin.

That history as a selling point, Matelau picked Illinois to continue his career. A move his family threw its support behind this past winter.

"They love it," Matelau said. "My mom's already a big Illini fan. I've only been here for eight months, and she has every shirt there is. She's ordered my jerseys already."

Matelau should be on the field at left guard in that No. 70 jersey when Illinois opens its season Sept. 3 against UAB. The Illini found real value in the JUCO offensive lineman in how he'd fit on a rebuilt offensive line, but also in how his unique path to the program would inject a different kind of maturity into a group not long on experience.

That's the exact impression he's made since arriving in Champaign in January. Physical and strong to play interior offensive line, but athletic enough to provide some explosion. Mature enough to play with urgency and be coachable.

"He carries himself like a guy that's played a lot of football, and he has," Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said. "Has he played at this level? He hasn't. Is he going to do well for us? I really believe he will.

"I believe he's earned that right. There's going to be moments where the league is different than what he's used to doing, but I feel great about him. His work ethic, his toughness and his intellectual football IQ is off the charts good."

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos