Rookie safety’s learning on the job
BRADENTON, Fla. — As Raiders safety Shalom Luani made his first NFL start at Buffalo on Sunday, one of his former junior college coaches was scouring the Internet in Maui, searching for a telecast or live stream of the game.
Halakilangi Frank Muagututia is a former defensive back who played at UTEP and briefly in the XFL and Arena Football League. Muagututia is of Samoan descent — like Luani, who hails from American Samoa — and was coaching at Chabot College in Hayward when Luani arrived in 2012.
Luani, Muagututia recalled Tuesday, caught his eye for two reasons. One, most of the Samoan players Muagututia had worked with were linemen or linebackers — not fellow safeties. Two, Luani possessed speed beyond what Muagututia typically saw in kids from the island.
“When I first saw him — my wife even tells me this, she says I told her this kid, he has a chance to make the NFL,” Mua-
gututia said in a phone call.
Drafted in the seventh round by the Raiders in April, Luani made the 53-man roster out of camp and started Sunday in place of injured Karl Joseph. Luani played 68 of a possible 69 defensive snaps and 16 snaps on special teams, making him the most active Oakland player in a 34-14 loss to the Bills. Entering the game, he’d played five defensive snaps all season.
Luani finished with seven tackles and — according to Pro Football Focus — was targeted in coverage five times. He allowed three catches for 52 yards with one pass defensed.
“Shalom did some really good things,” head coach Jack Del Rio said Monday, “and then he had a couple that he’d like to have back.”
Specifically, Del Rio cited a 36-yard pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor to receiver Andre Holmes near the Buffalo sideline in the third quarter. Holmes slipped past cornerback Dexter McDonald and Luani was late coming over the top to help. Del Rio added McDonald could have jammed Holmes more at the line of scrimmage.
“Things like that weren’t what they need to be,” Del Rio said, “but (Luani) also made some nice plays. Overall, I’d say he was active, had his hands on the ball, near interception. That’s the kind of player he is. He’ll go make some plays like that. I think he’ll learn from it.”
Luani recorded eight interceptions in two seasons at Washington State. The Raiders have has no interceptions through eight games this season, and Luani smiled ruefully Tuesday when reminded of his chance Sunday.
“Yeah, I had a shot,” he said. “But next game, man. Looking forward to the next game.”
Luani said he felt “a little nervous” going into his first start but leaned on some of the Raiders’ older players for advice. One of those was Reggie Nelson, whose message was: Just play fast.
“I’m just here to help him out, I’m not here to hold his hand,” Nelson said. “He got out there and he did his job. That’s what he did. We watched film all week together and he played good.”
Asked to assess his own play, Luani said he felt “like I did pretty good, but I still wasn’t satisfied with how I performed.
“Before every play, I’ve just got to think about my assignment. I can’t mess up. They expect me to come in and play. They expect me to make plays.”
Muagututia, whom Luani calls “Coach T,” did not find a telecast of Sunday’s game. He did watch the highlights and saw some positive evaluations of Luani’s performance.
Ten days before, Muagututia had flown from Hawaii to Oakland to watch the Raiders play on a Thursday night against Kansas City. He brought his kids and got the chance to talk briefly with Del Rio, who spoke highly of the rookie safety.
“So I knew that (Luani) was going to get a chance to start,” Muagututia said. “But for him to do it against Buffalo, I was like, ‘Wow, man, it happened faster than I thought.’ ”