PREP FOOTBALL: Lesson learned: All-star Misa-Amituanai never let up in school

By TOM SHANAHAN - For the North County Times | Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:11 PM PDT ∞

Former Mission Hills lineman/tight end Vince Misa-Amituanai will play in tonight's Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic. Photo by John Koster/For the North County Times

SAN MARCOS ---- The simple story Vince Misa-Amituanai could tell you about how he was inspired to earn a college football scholarship ---- and maybe a future NFL opportunity ---- goes like this:

It was April 2003, and Misa-Amituanai's cousin, Pisa Tinoisamoa, was about to be taken in the NFL draft.

Misa-Amituanai, then in junior high, joined his family for a draft-day party at Tinoisamoa's home. He watched in awe as Tinoisamoa, the former Vista High and University of Hawaii linebacker, talked on the phone to St. Louis Rams representatives after the team drafted him in the second round.

But it took more than that moment of inspiration to get Misa-Amituanai where he is today. The recent Mission Hills graduate who will play in the Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic on Friday at Mt. Carmel High first needed some inspiration in the classroom.

"My freshman year, I was messing up on my grades," Misa-Amituanai said. "My sophomore year, some UCLA coach came to our campus, and he asked about me. But I heard when he looked at my transcript, he said, 'We can't recruit this kid.' "

Those words haunted Misa-Amituanai, who eventually earned a scholarship to play tight end for Texas-El Paso.

"He was a kid who didn't think he had a future in college or football," Mission Hills coach Chris Hauser said. "He thought he would go to high school and then just work, but then he started to realize he had a future and could go to college."

Misa-Amituanai said once he put more effort into school, he found he enjoyed it. He doesn't have a college major picked yet, but he has developed an interest in history and science.

"My advice to kids who are like me is don't miss class," he said. "Go to class and save the fun for the weekend."

Hauser believes Misa-Amituanai, a 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, is a developing talent with enough potential to become an All-Conference USA player and even earn an NFL opportunity.

As a senior, Misa-Amituanai helped lead the Grizzlies to a Valley League title and an appearance in the CIF San Diego Section Division II championship game. He had 14 receptions for 225 yards for a Mission Hills offense that emphasized the run. One of his catches went for a touchdown in the CIF title game.

In past years, El Paso, Texas, might have seemed like an odd destination for a Samoan from California. But that was before Mike Price arrived at UTEP four years ago.

Price had a long history of recruiting Samoans when he was at Washington State from 1989 to 2002, and he has brought that philosophy to the Miners.

"There are at least six Samoans on the team, and one of them is from American Samoa," Misa-Amituanai said. "I felt real comfortable there on my recruiting trip. I didn't feel out of place."

Amituanai, of course, is a famous name in San Diego football.

Misa-Amituanai's stepfather, Sautia "Joe" Amituanai, the only father Vince has ever known, is the brother of Tamasi Amituanai, one of the greatest players to come out of Vista High, where he was a 300-pound lineman in the 1980s.

Tamasi Amituanai's prowess rivaled that of Morse's Lincoln Kennedy, who went on to become an All-American lineman at Washington and a Pro Bowler with the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders.

Kennedy's high school coach, John Shacklett, was once asked why Kennedy made it to the NFL and Tamasi Amituanai didn't.

"Because Lincoln got into college," Shacklett said.

It's a lesson from which Misa-Amituanai has learned.