Tevita Musika gives Alabama quality depth addition
Tevita Musika grew up in the same household as Tevita “Vita” Vea, a former Washington standout and likely top 15 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Because both shared the same name (Tevita is the Tongan version of David), there had to be a way to distinguish the two if called upon.
There was an easy choice. Because of their completely different body shapes, Vea is 6-foot-5 and nearly 350 pounds, while Musika is 6-2 and over 350 pounds, the family decided to give them nicknames that suited their body frames.
“Their nicknames are ‘Tall Vita’ and ‘Wide Vita,’ ” College of San Mateo coach Tim Tulloch told SEC Country. “Vita Vea is ‘Tall Vita’ and Tevita Musika is ‘Wide Vita.’ ”
While Vea has received an enormous amount of attention as being one of the top players in this year’s draft, his cousin, Tevita, who signed with Alabama on Wednesday, didn’t receive any attention from schools coming out of high school and only a few expressed interest in signing him after he finished junior college.
Musika was a first-team California Community College Athletic Association All-American last season after registering 42 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Tulloch credits Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who led the charge on Musika’s recruitment, for landing a steal.
“Tosh always stays in touch with us,” Tulloch said. “He’s an unbelievably thorough recruiter. Recruiting is one of those things that never stops. The good ones are always making sure they know everybody. He knows about all of our top prospects here. When they decided they had a need and wanted to move on a JUCO nose guard, he knew where to go because he knew about Tevita. That’s why Tosh is where he is today because of how great of a recruiter he is.”
Alabama wanted to sign at least one more defensive lineman in the 2018 class on National Signing Day in February. The Crimson Tide had a commitment from Bobby Brown, but he ended up flipping to Texas A&M, which caught Alabama off guard because he didn’t give the team any indication that he planned to do so. Alabama also wanted to sign Malik Langham, who’s from the Huntsville area, but he ended up choosing Florida.
That left the Tide with only two defensive line signees in the 2018 class — 4-star prospects Christian Barmore and Stephon Wynn. Coach Nick Saban made it clear during his press conference on Signing Day that the team was looking to add one more player, and the Tide, mainly Lupoi, identified Musika as a top target.
Tulloch, who has been at College of San Mateo since 1997, had known Lupoi since the Alabama defensive coordinator was Cal’s defensive line coach in 2008. Tulloch said Lupoi is one of the best recruiters in the country and has a reputation on the West Coast as being the best recruiter in that area.
“Joining that Alabama staff really put everyone in the nation on alert,” Tulloch said of Lupoi. “What’s missed a lot of the times with Tosh, in my opinion, we talk a lot about his recruiting efforts, but he’s also a really good football coach. He’s as detailed at the technical aspects of the game as far as linebackers and defensive line play as anyone. That defense is just going to get better. They are going to pick up where they left off. They are not going backward. They are going forward.
“With Tosh’s creativity and innovation, what he’s going to be able to do with the front seven guys, you are going to see stuff that’s different and stuff that we may not have seen before in college football. Don’t be surprised if that defense is a notch or two better than what it was last year, which is scary to think about.”
And now Alabama adds Musika, who adds quality depth for a relatively thin unit. The Tide lost starting nose guard Da’Ron Payne and his backup Josh Frazier after last season. With the addition of Musika, he gives the Tide a true nose guard for the upcoming season.
“He’s 6-foot-2 and weighs over 350 pounds,” Tulloch said. “He’s your dominant nose guard. He’s a little taller than [former New England Patriots great Vince] Wilfork. For teams like Alabama that run an NFL pro-style defense, when you want to be able to get in and out of odd fronts in your 3-4 defense, what Musika does for you is allows you the flexibility to put him right there in a 0 [technique] lined up over the center, but he can also kick out and go up against a guard and play in a 40 front as well. So, it’s not just when he’s in that they are running an odd front and running a 3-4 defense. He’s able to move around.
“He’s very smart and knew our defense from front to back. He was able to ID backfield sets and ID protection sets. He can cause lots of problems in the center of the defense.”
Musika has three years of eligibility remaining to play two seasons of college football. He’s expected to arrive in Tuscaloosa in late May, so he can be there for the start of the first summer session with the team.
Tulloch gave his breakdown of what kind of player Alabama fans should expect to see when Musika gets on campus.
“Tevita is an extremely powerful kid, especially at the point of attack,” Tulloch said. “The strength of the defense is right at nose tackle, and Tevita is a kid who is over 350 pounds with extremely strong hands, plays with a motor and chases the ball every down.
“For a guy who is only 6-2, he has extremely long arms — he has 33½-inch arms [the equivalent of a person who is roughly 6-5] — he has learned to play with length. He also has extremely strong hands. To be able to play with that length at nose guard, he has natural leverage, power and arm length, which gives you that NFL prototypical nose guard.”
Check out Musika’s highlights here.
Alabama recruiting: The latest news surrounding Crimson Tide recruiting
Tevita Musika grew up in the same household as Tevita “Vita” Vea, a former Washington standout and likely top 15 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Because both shared the same name (Tevita is the Tongan version of David), there had to be a way to distinguish the two if called upon.
There was an easy choice. Because of their completely different body shapes, Vea is 6-foot-5 and nearly 350 pounds, while Musika is 6-2 and over 350 pounds, the family decided to give them nicknames that suited their body frames.
“Their nicknames are ‘Tall Vita’ and ‘Wide Vita,’ ” College of San Mateo coach Tim Tulloch told SEC Country. “Vita Vea is ‘Tall Vita’ and Tevita Musika is ‘Wide Vita.’ ”
While Vea has received an enormous amount of attention as being one of the top players in this year’s draft, his cousin, Tevita, who signed with Alabama on Wednesday, didn’t receive any attention from schools coming out of high school and only a few expressed interest in signing him after he finished junior college.
Musika was a first-team California Community College Athletic Association All-American last season after registering 42 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Tulloch credits Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who led the charge on Musika’s recruitment, for landing a steal.
“Tosh always stays in touch with us,” Tulloch said. “He’s an unbelievably thorough recruiter. Recruiting is one of those things that never stops. The good ones are always making sure they know everybody. He knows about all of our top prospects here. When they decided they had a need and wanted to move on a JUCO nose guard, he knew where to go because he knew about Tevita. That’s why Tosh is where he is today because of how great of a recruiter he is.”
Alabama wanted to sign at least one more defensive lineman in the 2018 class on National Signing Day in February. The Crimson Tide had a commitment from Bobby Brown, but he ended up flipping to Texas A&M, which caught Alabama off guard because he didn’t give the team any indication that he planned to do so. Alabama also wanted to sign Malik Langham, who’s from the Huntsville area, but he ended up choosing Florida.
That left the Tide with only two defensive line signees in the 2018 class — 4-star prospects Christian Barmore and Stephon Wynn. Coach Nick Saban made it clear during his press conference on Signing Day that the team was looking to add one more player, and the Tide, mainly Lupoi, identified Musika as a top target.
Tulloch, who has been at College of San Mateo since 1997, had known Lupoi since the Alabama defensive coordinator was Cal’s defensive line coach in 2008. Tulloch said Lupoi is one of the best recruiters in the country and has a reputation on the West Coast as being the best recruiter in that area.
“Joining that Alabama staff really put everyone in the nation on alert,” Tulloch said of Lupoi. “What’s missed a lot of the times with Tosh, in my opinion, we talk a lot about his recruiting efforts, but he’s also a really good football coach. He’s as detailed at the technical aspects of the game as far as linebackers and defensive line play as anyone. That defense is just going to get better. They are going to pick up where they left off. They are not going backward. They are going forward.
“With Tosh’s creativity and innovation, what he’s going to be able to do with the front seven guys, you are going to see stuff that’s different and stuff that we may not have seen before in college football. Don’t be surprised if that defense is a notch or two better than what it was last year, which is scary to think about.”
And now Alabama adds Musika, who adds quality depth for a relatively thin unit. The Tide lost starting nose guard Da’Ron Payne and his backup Josh Frazier after last season. With the addition of Musika, he gives the Tide a true nose guard for the upcoming season.
“He’s 6-foot-2 and weighs over 350 pounds,” Tulloch said. “He’s your dominant nose guard. He’s a little taller than [former New England Patriots great Vince] Wilfork. For teams like Alabama that run an NFL pro-style defense, when you want to be able to get in and out of odd fronts in your 3-4 defense, what Musika does for you is allows you the flexibility to put him right there in a 0 [technique] lined up over the center, but he can also kick out and go up against a guard and play in a 40 front as well. So, it’s not just when he’s in that they are running an odd front and running a 3-4 defense. He’s able to move around.
“He’s very smart and knew our defense from front to back. He was able to ID backfield sets and ID protection sets. He can cause lots of problems in the center of the defense.”
Musika has three years of eligibility remaining to play two seasons of college football. He’s expected to arrive in Tuscaloosa in late May, so he can be there for the start of the first summer session with the team.
Tulloch gave his breakdown of what kind of player Alabama fans should expect to see when Musika gets on campus.
“Tevita is an extremely powerful kid, especially at the point of attack,” Tulloch said. “The strength of the defense is right at nose tackle, and Tevita is a kid who is over 350 pounds with extremely strong hands, plays with a motor and chases the ball every down.
“For a guy who is only 6-2, he has extremely long arms — he has 33½-inch arms [the equivalent of a person who is roughly 6-5] — he has learned to play with length. He also has extremely strong hands. To be able to play with that length at nose guard, he has natural leverage, power and arm length, which gives you that NFL prototypical nose guard.”
Check out Musika’s highlights here.
Alabama recruiting: The latest news surrounding Crimson Tide recruiting
