Atascocita’s Taumanupepe joins ‘special’ Aggies
Samu Taumanupepe knew he was going to be a special player when Atascocita played at C.E. King during his sophomore season.
At the time, the defensive tackle had a lot of weight on him, didn’t have much stamina and couldn’t play every snap.
He was rotated in during the game, but for three straight plays, he went through double teams on the Panthers’ offensive line and pushed C.E. King backwards with two tackles for loss and one sack.
“I knew that I could be a good player that night,” he said. “After that, I just locked in and focused every single day to get better. Here I am now, and I’m grateful to be in the position that I’m in. It’s a relief for me now for sure, but I will never forget where I came from.”
Taumanupepe joined several Humble ISD student-athletes at the United City Church in Humble for a signing ceremony among coaches, family, teammates and friends.
The Texas A&M signee originally signed his national letter of intent with the Aggies during the early signing period in December. Taumanupepe becomes the second straight Texas A&M signee from Atascocita after offensive lineman Kam Dewberry signed last year and contributed to the team in his freshman season.
In his senior season, Taumanupepe he had 60 tackles with six tackles for loss and had one interception that he almost returned for a touchdown.
The three-star recruit lost 40 pounds to play at 380 pounds and is continuing to work out and eat right to get to College Station in the best shape before college workouts.
Taumanupepe started getting offers his junior year from Oregon, Miami, TCU, Houston, Baylor, Kansas, Texas, Colorado and more.
But he wanted to be an Aggie. “I have always wanted to be a part of Aggie nation,” Taumanupepe said. “I’m going to get that Aggie ring for sure, too. I just felt comfortable there, and coach ( Jimbo) Fisher is building something special. I want to be a part of it.”
Atascocita coach Craig Stump, who played at Texas A&M, has seen growth in Taumanupepe on and off the field.
“It was maturity,” Stump said. “He just got more mature, just like any other young man. He took to coaching and really grew out of his shell. He has trimmed a lot of weight where we could play him every down. He will continue to trim down, and I think he will get to 365 pounds for them and play every play.”