Since Mike Leach hired him away from his alma mater at the end of the 2011 season, Joe Salave’a has made at least one recruiting trip a year home to American Samoa. Four years into Salave’a’s tenure at WSU, this flourishing Samoan pipeline is paying dividends for the Cougars.
Look down right before Washington State’s kickoff against Arizona this Saturday, and you’ll see a circle of big Polynesian football players clad in Cougars jerseys, holding hands while down on one knee, eyes closed. Praying.
Home or away, they gather on the edge of the field before and after every football game.