Australian gridiron player, 19, takes America by storm after he was discovered in a Melbourne gym and learned the sport’s rules by playing video games
- Daniel Faalele, 19, plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team
- He moved to the U.S. in 2016 after scouts saw his humongous size and speed
- Learned everything from scratch and was taught rules playing Madden
- Teenager towers over much of his opposition as the biggest player in the league
A two-metre tall, 200kg behemoth from Melbourne is the latest Australian making waves in the American football scene.
Daniel Faalele, 19, is in his second year at the University of Minnesota and already has NFL scouts excited by his massive size and raw power.
The offensive tackle attracted more attention after he was photographed dwarfing college sport reporter Megan Ryan.
Faalele’s immense size was obvious as the pair sat side-by-side on a stadium bench at the university’s media day on Thursday.
With size 18 feet and a hulking figure that terrifies even the strongest defensive players, he one of the biggest men in college football.
His huge proportions is what transported him across the world from sunny Australia to the freezing winters of Minnesota.
Faalele was discovered lifting weights at a gym aged just 15 by a University of Hawaii scout who saw his potential as a fearsome blocker.
By August 2016 he was on a plane to Florida to finish high school at the famed IMG Academy where he was the biggest boy in his class.
Faalele, 19, is in his second year at the University of Minnesota and already has NFL scouts excited by his massive size and raw power
Faalele dwarfs his girlfriend Brianna Montgomery even when she wears huge stiletto heels
Faalele settled on Minnesota and his mother Ruth and younger brother Taylor, 13, – himself a massive future NFL prospect – moved to join him.
Coaches started from scratch as Faalele hadn’t even watched a game before and didn’t know what basic gridiron terms meant.
Almost as important as his training was daily games of the football simulation video game Madden with his new friends.
This helped him learn the rules and strategies of American football faster and his unceasing work ethic saw him make huge strides.
Within a year he was already getting offers from Arkansas, Fresno State, Hawaii, Louisiana State, Miami, Michigan and Oregon State.
Faalele settled on Minnesota and his mother Ruth and younger brother Taylor, 13, – himself a massive future NFL prospect – moved to join him.
Coach PJ Fleck planned to keep him on the bench in 2018 as he learned during just his second season, but his skills improved rapidly.
After the Golden Gopher’s quarterback took far too many hits, Faalele was thrown into the fire on October 6 for his first full game
He started the rest of the season and helped them win the Paul Bunyan Axe by beating arch-rivals Wisconsin
After the Golden Gopher’s quarterback took far too many hits, Faalele was thrown into the fire on October 6 for his first full game.
He then started the rest of the season and is likely to continue in the first team when the 2019 season begins a few weeks from now.
‘I think back in March, April, I probably wouldn’t have said he was ready yet and as he has continued to go every day,’ Fleck said last year.
‘[Offensive line coach] Brian Callahan has got him more and more ready where you feel like, at this point, he can play.’
Numerous videos already show him bulldozing over hapless opposition players, even those far bigger than most footballers, even putting some in the ground.
As he is such a raw talent with little experience, Faalele is expected to be lightyears better, and with even more muscle, by the time the NFL comes knocking in two or three years.