At the CFL Combine last month, I had a chance to sit down with Arkansas DL Frank Mulipola, who is from American Samoa and is currently mocked to go seventh overall in the CFL Global Draft.
ME: You grow up in American Samoa. What’s the introduction of football like?
FRANK MULIPOLA: Like football in American Samoa, I would say it’s a popular sport in Samoa. American Samoans play a lot of rugby but to me, there’s a lot of people that like to play football because, you know, that’s like another way to get out from the island and stuff like that.
ME: So was that like the goal, like to get out?
FRANK MULIPOLA: Yeah, so that’s why I’m out here to, like, go to a big school and stuff like that. But football is like a big sport to us, like a popular sport to us.
ME: So what’s it like going from American Samoa, obviously kind of like a little isolated there in the Polynesian Islands, and you go to Arkansas? What was kind of the culture shock, being like, man, 80,000-seat stadiums, we’re playing Georgia, 100,000 in the stands, things like that?
FRANK MULIPOLA: Yeah, it’s like a good experience to me, you know, from a small island to the big states. So whenever I played in Arkansas, it’s like that’s my first time ever I see fans like die-hard for their football team. So that’s when I know, like, damn, football is more, like it’s really like a popular sport in America, you know. So when I went to Arkansas, it’s a good experience for me. From the small island to the United States, you know? But I didn’t know, like, it was that big into sports.
ME: So when you get, like, the call to come here, what was kind of your initial thought process?
FRANK MULIPOLA: To be honest, I don’t know. Just get the opportunity to showcase, you know, and show my talent. That’s it.
ME: So how do you feel you tested?
FRANK MULIPOLA: It’s all right. My bench was 24 or 23. But I already did my pro day already so it was not the number I really wanted because I got a 27 on my pro day, but I came here I got like 23.
ME: So what’s the one-rep max right now?
FRANK MULIPOLA: I would say 400. I’m not that type of person like, you know, to just lift heavy stuff because when you get old you can’t even lift no more, so you know just stay mobile. It’s just like get lighter so you can like live longer, you know.
ME: So CFL fans, fans in the league, fans of Canadian football that might not know about you, like what’s a message you want to give them so they know who you are, like your style of play, like your mentality, whatever it is?
FRANK MULIPOLA: So I would say like be disciplined. Show who you are, you know, nobody else like nobody knows who you are. But you gotta like show who you are and be disciplined.
