University of North Texas Athletics
Differing Paths To Denton For Mose Brothers
8/15/2018 1:40:00 PM | Football
DENTON – It's not often that an older brother takes advice from his younger sibling.
But on one day back in late April 2017, Sosaia Mose took his little brother's words to heart, and it didn't take long to pay off for the UNT offensive lineman.
Manase Mose, who is two years younger than Sosaia, had committed to the Mean Green as a hulking, smashing offensive lineman out of powerhouse Euless Trinity just a few months prior, and he had a tip for his older brother.
"[UNT offensive line coach Chuck] Langston called me and asked for my brother's number and said they might offer him," said Manase, who had been pushing Sosaia, then a redshirt freshman at Tyler Junior College, on his new coaches. "I hung up on coach Langston and immediately called my brother and was like, 'If he calls, pick up the phone.'"
The offer came and Sosaia quickly became the newest offensive line commitment for Langston, who was entering his first year with the Mean Green and looking to rebuild a struggling unit.
That rebuild began before Langston arrived on campus, when the previous offensive line coach recruited Manase Mose. When Manase came to Denton for his official visit, his parents wanted Sosaia to join them, seeing as how he had already gone through the recruiting process a couple of years prior and could help ease the language barrier for them.
"I went along to help," Sosaia said. "When I came for his visit, I didn't really expect much. I was out here enjoying his official, and I didn't expect anything out of it. I didn't want to use my little brother, but he did put my name out there."
Months later, Sosaia got the call he had long awaited. But he never would have answered without his brother's persuasion.
"I usually don't answer calls I don't have the number saved, but one day my brother calls me and was like, 'Hey, the O-line coach from North Texas is gonna call you, make sure you pick up your phone,'" Sosaia said. "He knows me. If I don't have it saved, I'm not answering, but that was an important one. I'm glad he gave me the heads up."
Langston is thankful it worked out, as well.
Sosaia Mose is now entering his second year in the program and is on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's best center. Langston said he understands what is on the line for the younger Mose brother, who hopes he will line up next to Sosaia at guard when North Texas opens the season on September 1 against SMU at Apogee Stadium.
"I have three sons, and for one season I had a senior and a sophomore and they got to play with each other, and that was awesome," Langston said. "Even more than that, they're [the Mose brothers] going to get to play right next to each other. It's very special to be able to play college football, but to be able to start right next to each other would be such a great moment for them and their family."
For the brothers, their family's joy already came – the day Sosaia got the offer to join Manase prior to the 2017 season, which was a banner year for the Mean Green, who won nine games and went to the New Orleans Bowl after securing the Conference USA West Division championship.
The brothers hail from Euless and were a part of the winning tradition of Euless Trinity, which has a history of producing great offensive linemen, thanks in large part to the influx of Tongan culture at the school in the early 1970s, brought on by American Airlines moving its hub to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. At that time, a large group of Tongans made the move to DFW in search for better opportunities, relatively cheap cost of living and an opportunity to make visits home with the use of flight benefits.
Tonga, a small island nation southeast of Fiji, thrives off a culture of family- and community-oriented people who are hard workers, and the Mose brothers both said the entire Trinity community has taken on that persona and made the football program a winner.
The brothers are not only first-generation Americans, but also first-generation college students, and they said they often believe they are paying their parents back for their hard work and for putting them in a position to succeed.
"Growing up, we went back and forth to Tonga, and going back and seeing our family over there really humbles us," Manase Mose said. "All the stories my dad talks about, coming from the island and stuff, it was mainly for us. Now they're kind of living through us.
"The small things we have over here – WiFi, electricity, water pressure, hot water, simple things like that – we take for granted," Manase added. "Most places in Tonga, only royalty or people who own good businesses have those things. Back where my dad grew up, they drink rain water. They don't have public water. It just humbles you."
Now, up to 50 of those family members attend UNT's home games to watch them play.
"Forty-five minutes isn't a long drive," Manase said. "We have a big family, so we just try to get them as many tickets as we can."
The Moses have family all over the world – Tonga, California, Florida and New Zealand – but the majority of their family is planted squarely in Euless, including their aunt, La Afungia, who is the sister of the boys' mother, Naitingale.
Including Manase and Sosaia, there are 21 first cousins on their mom's side alone. That group of first cousins have had eight children of their own.
In other words, there are a lot of young kids in their family who think the brothers hung the moon.
"Having them that close really has a great impact on their younger cousins because they are some of the older cousins," said Afungia, who lives in Euless but runs the Texas Image volleyball club in Grand Prairie.
"Getting to watch them play football and seeing where you can be, for the younger generation, is amazing. Just being down the street is super helpful for our family because we've watched them as kids and then at Euless Trinity. Now, to be able to watch them continue their play in college is priceless. It really is."
Afungia said the family not only makes a point to get to Denton for every home game, but often goes on the road to follow the brothers. That tie between the Tongan culture in Euless and American Airlines? It applies to the Mose family, as well, as their father, Fonua, works for the airline.
"We get those flight benefits, so we get to travel and watch the boys play on the road," Afungia said. "If the flights are open, we're there. Their parents go to as many games as possible. But when we all have an opportunity, we'll go if we can."
When Sosaia was at Tyler Junior College, they made the longer drive to Tyler to watch his games on Saturdays. That's what made that day back in April 2017 so special for the entire family.
"I know my mom was tearing up," said Sosaia, who could have played one more year at Tyler Junior College in 2017. "She won't tell me, but I think both of my parents had been praying on this. It cuts out splitting time going to Tyler and coming here to see my brother."
It also gave the family some peace of mind for the younger Manase.
"We were a little worried when Manase got his scholarship because he was going into a big DI," Afungia said. "But when we found out they offered Saia, we were just in shock. Not because he got the offer, but just that we felt like some of our prayers had been answered that a bigger brother could be there to help take his younger brother under his wing and show him the priorities and what to stay away from."
Just a couple of weeks from the season opener, Manase is hoping he will finally get a shot to take the field in the starting lineup alongside his older brother – something he was never able to do in high school when he was a sophomore and Sosaia was a senior.
"It's going to be very special," Manase said. "I tried my hardest during high school to play by him, but there was so much talent I just had to get better. Coming here and knowing he's here, we've been helping each other a lot. We just want to keep getting better so we can play next to each other."
But on one day back in late April 2017, Sosaia Mose took his little brother's words to heart, and it didn't take long to pay off for the UNT offensive lineman.
Manase Mose, who is two years younger than Sosaia, had committed to the Mean Green as a hulking, smashing offensive lineman out of powerhouse Euless Trinity just a few months prior, and he had a tip for his older brother.
"[UNT offensive line coach Chuck] Langston called me and asked for my brother's number and said they might offer him," said Manase, who had been pushing Sosaia, then a redshirt freshman at Tyler Junior College, on his new coaches. "I hung up on coach Langston and immediately called my brother and was like, 'If he calls, pick up the phone.'"
The offer came and Sosaia quickly became the newest offensive line commitment for Langston, who was entering his first year with the Mean Green and looking to rebuild a struggling unit.
That rebuild began before Langston arrived on campus, when the previous offensive line coach recruited Manase Mose. When Manase came to Denton for his official visit, his parents wanted Sosaia to join them, seeing as how he had already gone through the recruiting process a couple of years prior and could help ease the language barrier for them.
"I went along to help," Sosaia said. "When I came for his visit, I didn't really expect much. I was out here enjoying his official, and I didn't expect anything out of it. I didn't want to use my little brother, but he did put my name out there."
Months later, Sosaia got the call he had long awaited. But he never would have answered without his brother's persuasion.
"I usually don't answer calls I don't have the number saved, but one day my brother calls me and was like, 'Hey, the O-line coach from North Texas is gonna call you, make sure you pick up your phone,'" Sosaia said. "He knows me. If I don't have it saved, I'm not answering, but that was an important one. I'm glad he gave me the heads up."
Langston is thankful it worked out, as well.
Sosaia Mose is now entering his second year in the program and is on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's best center. Langston said he understands what is on the line for the younger Mose brother, who hopes he will line up next to Sosaia at guard when North Texas opens the season on September 1 against SMU at Apogee Stadium.
"I have three sons, and for one season I had a senior and a sophomore and they got to play with each other, and that was awesome," Langston said. "Even more than that, they're [the Mose brothers] going to get to play right next to each other. It's very special to be able to play college football, but to be able to start right next to each other would be such a great moment for them and their family."
For the brothers, their family's joy already came – the day Sosaia got the offer to join Manase prior to the 2017 season, which was a banner year for the Mean Green, who won nine games and went to the New Orleans Bowl after securing the Conference USA West Division championship.
The brothers hail from Euless and were a part of the winning tradition of Euless Trinity, which has a history of producing great offensive linemen, thanks in large part to the influx of Tongan culture at the school in the early 1970s, brought on by American Airlines moving its hub to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. At that time, a large group of Tongans made the move to DFW in search for better opportunities, relatively cheap cost of living and an opportunity to make visits home with the use of flight benefits.
Tonga, a small island nation southeast of Fiji, thrives off a culture of family- and community-oriented people who are hard workers, and the Mose brothers both said the entire Trinity community has taken on that persona and made the football program a winner.
The brothers are not only first-generation Americans, but also first-generation college students, and they said they often believe they are paying their parents back for their hard work and for putting them in a position to succeed.
"Growing up, we went back and forth to Tonga, and going back and seeing our family over there really humbles us," Manase Mose said. "All the stories my dad talks about, coming from the island and stuff, it was mainly for us. Now they're kind of living through us.
"The small things we have over here – WiFi, electricity, water pressure, hot water, simple things like that – we take for granted," Manase added. "Most places in Tonga, only royalty or people who own good businesses have those things. Back where my dad grew up, they drink rain water. They don't have public water. It just humbles you."
Now, up to 50 of those family members attend UNT's home games to watch them play.
"Forty-five minutes isn't a long drive," Manase said. "We have a big family, so we just try to get them as many tickets as we can."
The Moses have family all over the world – Tonga, California, Florida and New Zealand – but the majority of their family is planted squarely in Euless, including their aunt, La Afungia, who is the sister of the boys' mother, Naitingale.
Including Manase and Sosaia, there are 21 first cousins on their mom's side alone. That group of first cousins have had eight children of their own.
In other words, there are a lot of young kids in their family who think the brothers hung the moon.
"Having them that close really has a great impact on their younger cousins because they are some of the older cousins," said Afungia, who lives in Euless but runs the Texas Image volleyball club in Grand Prairie.
"Getting to watch them play football and seeing where you can be, for the younger generation, is amazing. Just being down the street is super helpful for our family because we've watched them as kids and then at Euless Trinity. Now, to be able to watch them continue their play in college is priceless. It really is."
Afungia said the family not only makes a point to get to Denton for every home game, but often goes on the road to follow the brothers. That tie between the Tongan culture in Euless and American Airlines? It applies to the Mose family, as well, as their father, Fonua, works for the airline.
"We get those flight benefits, so we get to travel and watch the boys play on the road," Afungia said. "If the flights are open, we're there. Their parents go to as many games as possible. But when we all have an opportunity, we'll go if we can."
When Sosaia was at Tyler Junior College, they made the longer drive to Tyler to watch his games on Saturdays. That's what made that day back in April 2017 so special for the entire family.
"I know my mom was tearing up," said Sosaia, who could have played one more year at Tyler Junior College in 2017. "She won't tell me, but I think both of my parents had been praying on this. It cuts out splitting time going to Tyler and coming here to see my brother."
It also gave the family some peace of mind for the younger Manase.
"We were a little worried when Manase got his scholarship because he was going into a big DI," Afungia said. "But when we found out they offered Saia, we were just in shock. Not because he got the offer, but just that we felt like some of our prayers had been answered that a bigger brother could be there to help take his younger brother under his wing and show him the priorities and what to stay away from."
Just a couple of weeks from the season opener, Manase is hoping he will finally get a shot to take the field in the starting lineup alongside his older brother – something he was never able to do in high school when he was a sophomore and Sosaia was a senior.
"It's going to be very special," Manase said. "I tried my hardest during high school to play by him, but there was so much talent I just had to get better. Coming here and knowing he's here, we've been helping each other a lot. We just want to keep getting better so we can play next to each other."
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