The Seahawks were Taliese Fuaga's favorite team growing up in Tacoma, Wash., a city just 30 miles south of Seattle. He wanted to play in the NFL partly because he wanted the chance to to finally play at Lumen Field.
He remembers visiting only once, for a Seahawks-Raiders game. And while select area high school games are played at Lumen Field — the Seahawks' home stadium — the Mount Tahoma Thunderbirds weren't successful enough to earn an appearance during Fuaga's tenure.
"I probably won, like, three, four games in high school," Fuaga said, smiling. "Four years there, [we] only won maybe four games. We were pretty bad at the time."
Still, he earned a scholarship to play at Oregon State and was good enough that the New Orleans Saints made him a first-round draft pick, No. 14 overall, in 2024. And Sunday, the Saints' right tackle hopes to make his long-awaited appearance at Lumen Field, when the Saints (0-2) look to win their first game under first-year coach Kellen Moore, against the Seahawks (1-1).
Fuaga, who did not practice Wednesday and Thursday due to knee and back injuries, said he expects to play against Seattle.
"It's an exciting feeling," he said. "I was a Seahawks fan growing up. I was right there. That was my home team."
His high school team helped develop the physical and character traits that he retains today. Leon Hatch, Fuaga's coach at Mount Tahoma, said the transitory nature of the sport factored into the T-birds' lack of success. Student athletes tend to come and go based on the team's success. But not Fuaga.
"He was one of the kids that was returning," Hatch said. "So I was watching him on film and I remember thinking to myself, 'Something's not adding up.' Because we were doing spring workouts, I had him in the weight room and I'm looking at his physical skills – very flexible, strong — everything is just off the charts. And then when I'm watching him play it's just not adding up; he's not playing to his ability.
"I remember talking to him and I said, 'Look, when I'm watching you on film, I'm confused. You need to help me. Either you don't know the plays, or you're not in shape and you're not giving 100 percent. I think you're one of the top tackles in the state of Washington.
"But here's the thing, when you send out film like this, regardless of what I think, it's not going to happen. We need to find a way to change that."
Fuaga changed. And he stayed despite the records.
"I'm from Birmingham, and I played my high school ball in Alabama," Hatch said. "We had pride in where we stayed. We didn't go to other schools to seek winning or a championship. We committed to each other.'
His message to Fuaga?
"I said if you're that guy, people are going to find you, because there are guys getting paid to be recruiters to find that kid at that one school.
"He said, 'Coach, I'm committed. I'm committed. I don't want to go anywhere. I have pride in my school. I went through elementary (school), I went through middle school here and this is part of my community, and I want to do it for my community.'"
Fuaga will have a community – his own home team – present at Lumen Field on Sunday for what is scheduled to be his 20th NFL game, all starts. "Just immediate family," Fuaga said. "My sister, her husband, my dad – so, like four or five. Nothing crazy. My parents are excited to watch the game, and my sister and her kids. It's going to be fun."
"Fun" hasn't been the operative word for the Saints as they prepare for their first road game after seven- and five-point losses at home.
By his own account, Fuaga has been slow out of the gate. Right tackle is his natural position, the one he played exclusively until his rookie NFL season, when he was moved to left tackle. Fuaga held up well at left tackle after overcoming a self-described uneven start, and he sees a mirror image now that he's back at right tackle and readjusting.
"It's been all right," he said. "I think the live reps in the game are helping me get better. I've still got to clean some things up, but it's fun on the right side. It's kind of like [last year]. I didn't think I started the best on the left side; I got some good plays or whatever, but I feel like I cleaned it up as the season went on. Right now, I'm still cleaning up a lot of things technically.
"It's a little bit of muscle memory, but I think a lot of it comes from confidence. I'm [gaining] more confidence as I get reps out there. But it's interesting so far."
Interesting, because a new offensive coordinator (Doug Nussmeier), new offensive line coach (Brendon Nugent), new offensive scheme, new position and new teammate at guard (right guard Cesar Ruiz) meant Fuaga couldn't lean on much of anything from last season as a jump start into this one.
"Different sets, still trying to feel out where I can change my set-up in these plays that we've got," he said. "It's a different system but I feel like once I can get different sets and different looks — as the season goes on and as I learn the playbook to master it — I think it'll be a good thing once I get it down.
"Me and Cesar (Ruiz) are still figuring out a little bit on some different plays. We've got some new plays each week, and we've just got to figure out how comfortable we are next to each other in different sets."
List that as a major goal Sunday, a box that needs to be checked if the Saints' offense hopes to create success against Seattle. Another major box will receive its check, too, when he sets foot on Lumen Field.
"I knew that if I could get to the NFL, I'll play at Seattle's stadium at least once," Fuaga said. "It's an exciting feeling."
