When the 2012 high school season ended for the Pittsburg High Pirates, Feao Vunipola was headed for Bozeman in Montana. Vunipola redshirted his freshman year at Montana State University. As a redshirt freshman in his second year, Vunipola saw limited action as a linebacker in the defensive rotation but did excel on the special teams.
But after some soul searching, the East Bay prospect decided to return home after completing the football season this past fall semester to play for Diablo Valley College (DVC) at the junior college level. A primary reason was that Montana State plays a relatively conservative defensive scheme while Vunipola is much more adept at playing in an attacking defense as he is listed at 6-foot-0 and 236 pounds.
In high school, Vunipola played running back with good size and speed. He utilizes those attributes well to cover slot receivers while still being able to blitz and to disrupt the offense. Vunipola has had family and friends who went to DVC before signing on to Division I programs. Vunipola cites some friends from the DVC program that have gone on to the next level that include defensive end Tui Talia (Oregon) defensive end Suia Taufa (Utah State), and current DVC defensive end Gabe Newman (Fresno State signed).
In his native Tongan dialect, Vunipola's name means "With God" as he will be playing the Willy linebacker position in the nickel package and will rotate to the Sam linebacker position to cover tight ends and the slot receiver. By Vunipola's account, his spring practices have gone well as he runs 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has a shuttle time of 4.31 seconds, bench presses 345 pounds, squats 425 pounds, and has vertical of 31 inches.
With the decision to go the junior college route, not many Division I programs are aware of his availability. The ones that have him on their linebacker radar include Boise State, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Georgia State, and Northern Arizona. Vunipola still would like to stay on the west coast. During the upcoming summer, Vunipola will work on his lower body, quads, hamstrings, and hips to increase his explosiveness and power.
Vunipola believes that his game can be compared to another former East Bay product in DJ Calhoun from El Cerrito High who is now at Arizona State. . Vunipola says, "We are not the tallest, nor the biggest linebackers. But our similarities and strengths are in our speed and aggression."
The linebacker prospect says, "Once I get comfortable with the defense here at DVC, I plan to lead this defense to a nationally ranking. We went up a division so we have a chance to play against those highly ranked schools."
Vunipola's best football skills are his speed and explosiveness. He has the speed to cover slot receivers while he still has the strength to plug a 320 pound guard running downhill. He understands the principle of leverage so his size difference does not affect his performance.
The DVC football website itself states to have matriculated over 100 scholarship football players in the past five years. The DVC defense was the top rated defense in the state of California last season on the JUCO level. Vunipola expects to spearhead another solid defense for DVC before deciding on his next four year program destination during the fall in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
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