2021 Football Roster
Laipeli Palu
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 222
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Burlingame, CA
- High School:
- Burlingame HS
Enters Fall Camp No. 1 on the preseason depth chart at Will linebacker, backed up by David Meyer and Drew Sulick.
2021 -- Played in all 11 games as a redshirt junior with four starts toward the end of the season ... earned 51 total tackles, including 33 solo stops ... season-high 12 tackles versus Montana and added nine tackles against Sacramento State and eight more versus both South Dakota and UC Davis ... notched one tackle for lost yardage in both the South Dakota and Montana games ... intercepted pair of passes, returning one four yards against San Diego and the other 10 yards versus Portland State. ... one quarterback hurry against UC Davis and one pass breakup in San Diego game.
2020 (Spring 2021) -- Member of squad but did not play in any games during Spring 2021 season.
2019 -- Redshirt ... played in four games with one start against Oregon State as a junior, preserving his redshirt year under NCAA rule allowing up to four games ... recorded 14 total tackles (six solo), including a season-high eight at Weber State and six more versus Oregon State ... one tackle for lost yardage in Weber State game.
Community College -- Palu made 38 tackles as a freshman and 81 more as a sophomore middle linebacker at College of San Mateo ... in the two seasons, Palu earned 14 tackles for lost yardage, including 4.5 sacks, and broke up five passes ... as a sophomore in 2018, Palu earned first-team All-Bay 6 League National Division honors and was named the conference's defensive MVP after recording 81 tackles and intercepting three passes, returning one 36 yards for a touchdown against Fresno City College ... JC All-American ... named team's most improved player ... Palu helped CSM to an 8-3 overall record, Bay 6 National Division title at 5-0 and a berth in the NorCal semifinals, where the Bulldogs lost to Laney 14-0 ... notched 38 tackles as a freshman at CSM ... also utilized a redshirt year and has two years remaining to play two seasons at Cal Poly.
High School -- A 2016 graduate of Burlingame High School, where he rushed for 1,147 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior while also making 45 solo tackles, including 13 for lost yardage and 3.5 sacks ... earned second-team All-Metro honors as an all-purpose player and also was named Peninsula Athletic League offensive player of the year ... three-year varsity letter winner ... team captain ... team MVP ... Polynesian All-American, first-team All-Mercury News and played in the Warrior Bowl.
Personal -- Son of Peni Palu and Mele Liongitau ... two brothers, Benji and Manase, and two sisters, Charlotte and Ana ... born in Burlingame, Calif. ... earned bachelor's degree in sociology in June 2022 and currently is enrolled in graduate school pursuing a master's in packaging value chain.
