One of the biggest rebuilds on the San Diego State defense this spring is at linebacker, where SDSU watched one starter transfer to a Power Four program, saw another starter sidelined following knee surgery and lost two backups to graduation.
The Aztecs were looking for talent, leadership and experience when they scoured the transfer portal for replacements.
Enter senior transfer Sione Hala, a Los Angeles native who returns Southern California after three years at Boston College and another one at Weber State.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Hala came out of Bellflower St. John Bosco High School as a safety, but his demeanor suggests Hala was born to be a linebacker.
“I bring a lot of experience, and I’ve also got that grit, you know?” Hala said as he came off the field following Thursday morning’s practice. “I want to finish every play strong, and I like to get down and dirty.”
Hala was just getting warmed up discussing his love for linebacker, the conversation sparked when he was reminded about a comment he made last summer to Ogden, Utah’s Standard-Examiner: “I love contact. I love going through people’s faces.”
Riffing off that, Hala said, “That contact is really what keeps me going every day. I love playing football. You know, there’s not another game in the world where you could line up 10 yards back and just run as hard as you can and impale and, you know, like put your whole body on a guy and just take somebody’s will.”
Hala came into his own at Weber State, finishing among the team leaders with 64 tackles. What SDSU coaches saw in him went way beyond statistics, though. The Aztecs were searching for someone who could approach the energy supplied by linebacker Owen Chambliss, who transferred to Nebraska after leading the Aztecs with 110 tackles.
In Hala, SDSU has found another high-motor guy with bad intentions for those on the other side of the line.
“That’s what he does,” new SDSU linebackers coach Scott White said. “He’s pissed, all day. I’m mean, we’re trying to impose our will, right? That’s the name of the game. He brings that. He is an alpha.”
Where does that show through?
“In every moment,” White said. “In the meeting room. In the walk-through. In the inside run, when he gets chippy, when they’re running the ball right at us.”
UConn quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson (1) releases a pass as Boston College defensive back Sione Hala (7) closes in on him during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
Hala does everything with the goal of becoming a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber player.
“It just goes back to being super hard on myself,” Hala said Thursday. “Like, there might be a play where I’m on the other side of the field, and I still feel like I could impact that play, either punch the ball out, or, you know, get them down from a 15-yard gain to like maybe a 6- or 7-yard gain.
“I expect so much from myself to do way better, do way more, you know? Whether that’s watching film with the guys or chasing somebody down that’s got nothing to do with me, I always want to do something extra. That’s the expectation I have for myself.
Senior linebacker Tano Letuli, one of SDSU’s team captains, is sidelined during the spring as he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery. Letuli should be ready when the season starts. In the meantime, younger linebackers are taking Letlui’s reps.
Hala is the most experienced player in a position group that also includes junior transfer Cameron Cooper (Western Colorado), sophomore transfer Jeramiah Lewis (College of San Mateo) and sophomore returner Dean Harrington, who had three tackles last season.
“I’m ready to step in, for sure,” said Hala, who is embracing a leadership role. “I’m an old dog on a new team. I want to set an example for the young guys and show them what a linebacker’s supposed to do on and off the field.”