As a junior in high school Samson "Toa" Satele Jr. is slightly built, but his father Samson Sr. was 6-3, 300 and played eight seasons in the NFL, a former second round draft pick for Bill Parcells at Miami.
Toa announced his final four yesterday, dropping USC from contention, moving his Oregon visit from June 19th to May 29th. He's a four-star linebacker and the No. 63 prospect in the country according to 247Sports.
The father was an all-state basketball player in a high school, a second team All-American at center for the University of Hawaii in the heyday of Rainbow Warrior football, blocking for Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan from 2003-2007. He started in 53 straight games at UH.
On Monday Toa set a final four of Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas and Cal. He earned second team all-state at Mililani High School last season, Dillon Gabriel's old school. He played his first two years for the Buff N' Blue at Punahou, DeForest Buckner's old school. Oregon connections abound.
Though his other offers included Michigan, Alabama and MIiami, he's narrowed his search to four official visits:
Oregon May 29
Texas June 5
Notre Dame June 9
Cal June 12
A slashing, blitzing linebacker with downhill intensity
Satele plays fast. He shows a high football IQ in his ability to diagnose plays and attack, aggressive and playing downhill to run down screens and sweeps or get to the quarterback.
There's room for improvement also. He tends to tackle high around the shoulder pads and try to throw people down, something that won't work as well in D1 football. That can be retaught in drills at spring practice.
Highlights for Samson "Toa" Satele, 4-star linebacker from Mililani High School (Dillon Gabriel's old school) who visits Oregon on May 29.https://t.co/KG6hJtTrMJ #hudl
— Dale Bliss (@AutzenZoo_Bliss) May 19, 2026
The superb instincts are a family legacy. "I’ve been in love with the game since I was born," Toa said to Whoa Sports World. "My father played in the NFL and I look up to him." In a game against Kailua last fall he blocked a field goal with no time left to preserve a 9-7 win.
Back in his rookie year, Samson Sr. remembered how his father Faalata raised him up in the game. "My dad’s been my coach since I was 7 years old playing football, and to this day he is still my coach," he said.
The strongest memory was the second round in 2007. "That day we hugged and everything came out - all my tears, all the hard work my dad put in for me. I was waiting for that moment to happen. Hopefully, one day I’ll have a son and raise him how my father raised me.”
The approach to the game, the effort and focus, remains apparent in all three generations. Asked to describe his playing style, Toa said in a YouTube interview, "They're going to see somebody that has good pre-snap reads, someone that has a nose for the ball, knows where it's going before the play even starts, and just breaking on breaking on the ball wherever it is."
He reports top marks of 245 on the bench and 415 in the squat. A Polynesian Bowl All-Star, there's not a listed 40 time for him, but the film shows a player who plays fast. And that's really what counts, what happens between the whistles.
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