He's a 1-A independent; UI's Nofoaiga was living on his own as a prep sophomore and managed to steer his own course
By Bert Sahlberg, Lewiston Tribune

October 22, 1998

MOSCOW -- For the other students in the descriptive writing English class at the University of Idaho, it's just another assignment.

For sophomore Chris Nofoaiga, writing about his past personal experiences is therapy.

His doesn't write about family vacations, birthday parties or what his favorite toys were in his childhood. No, he doesn't.

Instead, he writes about growing up in an environment with a drug-abusing, wife-beating stepfather.

He writes about moving away from home and being on his own when he was just a sophomore in high school.

He writes about playing three sports in high school, working at Pizza Hut and cutting out coat patterns at a clothing factory.

He writes about being a survivor and how someday he would like to help others in situations like his, the way others have helped him.

"I have gone through a lot of things," said the Tacoma native. "I grew up really fast. That's good though because I learned from all of my mistakes. Growing up in the environment I went through made me a sronger individual. If I can get by that, I can get through anything."

Life, for now however, seems to smiling upon him. His mother finally was able to leave his stepfather and has put her life back together in the Los Angeles area.

Chris' life seems good right now too. He's the first in his family to attend college and with the help of his longtime girlfriend, is focusing on both short- and long-term goals over their future.

A future that he hopes will include football, either as a player or as a coach.

For now, it's strictly as a player. And he's a darn good one.

At 5-foot-10, 218-pounds Nofoaiga (pronounced Nofo-in-na), is part of the best group of linebackers in the Big West Conference. The speedy and athletic outside linebacker is second on the team in tackles with 44 and leads the squad in both tackles for losses (10) and quarterback sacks (seven).

How good is he?

Well, he played in only the first six games last season as a shoulder injury kept him out of the final five. Still, he had 43 tackles and was so impressive that heading into this year, he was one of six players touted for postseason honors this season and featured on the cover of the team's media guide.

"The kid has so much desire to compete and succeed it's incredible," said Ken Baker, his linebacker coach at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma. "I just wish I could get more kids like him at Mount Tahoma. I have no doubt he will succeed in anything he does."

Baker knows what Nofoaiga went through in his childhood and also played an important role in helping him succeed.

Nofoaiga was an only child, which he said was fortunate as it made it easier for him to leave home during his sophomore year at Mount Tahoma.

"I just couldn't take it anymore," he said. "I couldn't get my mom out of there. They had been married for about 15 years and she was one of those battered wives that can't leave because she was scared."

Nofoiaga bounced from house to house living with friends, but Baker knew he needed a more stable environment.

"His friends were pretty unreliable and I told him that I wish my house was bigger so he could live with me, but that I think I can find a solution. He moved in with my sister and she now treats him more like a brother. It's funny how he's just that type of kid that grows on you that fast."

So Nofoaiga went to school, then participated in either football, wrestling or track, and then went to work, earning enough money to try and support himself.

And he succeeded.

"I've been here about eight years and we have lots of kids who come here with problems and very few suceed," Baker said. "No matter how much they try, they make the wrong decisions and fall apart. Very few make it.

"I think Chris made it because even when he was a freshman he had outstanding character. He was honest. He would always say I'm not going to do what my father has done. He saw people not succeeding and wasn't going to follow them. He kept pushing himself.

"And he had wonderful support here. There were teachers and counselors who reached out and helped Chris. And Chris never complained. He would go to school, then to practice and work until 2 a.m. and then do his homework. He always turned it in on time."

By his senior year, Nofoaiga was drawing interest from Pacific Northwest schools in football, but he struggled with the SAT test. Despite a GPA better than 3.0 and a passing mark on the ACT test, he came up a few points short on the SAT test each time.

"I'm just not a good test-taker," he said.

With the SAT problems, schools started to back away because he wasn't eligible. Idaho, however, petitioned the NCAA to allow Nofoaiga to play, citing his high school grades and his difficult past. The NCAA decided to allow Nofoaiga to play.

Still, he was having a tough time. Since the word from the NCAA came so late, Idaho had no scholarships left, so Nofoaiga was forced to walk on, although he did receive a minority scholarship and federal aid.

He played on the scout team while redshirting in the fall of 1996, but he missed his steady girlfriend, who stayed behind in Tacoma.

At the end of the first semester, he packed up all his stuff and headed back to Tacoma without telling anyone.

"I didn't even register for class for the second semester," he said. "I just wanted to go home."

Baker, however, was waiting for him.

"I laid into him," Baker said. "I told him look at all the hard work he had put in to get where he was and now he was willing to give it all up. I couldn't let him do that."

Also, the UI coaching staff noticed he wasn't enrolled and immediately tracked him down.

"Coach (Chris) Tormey asked me what if I had a full-ride scholarship, would that make a difference?" Nofoaiga said. "I was thinking I would probably stay home, go to a community college and work at Pizza Hut again. But I couldn't turn away from the opportunity to play football and get a college education paid for."

So he came back and eventually moved his girlfriend over with him.

His goal now is to get his college GPA up and go into secondary eduction where he would like to teach and coach at the high school level. He'd also like to become a guidance counselor.

"I know there are a lot of kids strugglig out there, especially back home," he said. "I want to work with kids."

"Yeah, it's so funny about that because when he first went to college, all he was thinking about were the dollar signs instead of looking at himself and the things he likes to do," Baker said. "I always called him coach Chris because he always helped the younger kids on the team. I told him this is what you like doing, so why don't you give it a shot? It finally dawned on him. He'd be a great teacher because he works so well with kids."

It also gives him something else to write about.

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