in the 55-meter dash at the 2013 Indoor State Championship at LSU on February 23, 2013... Sione Palelei was the 9th fastest man in the state (6.52a), Jeryl Brazil was the fastest...but Palelei is much bigger than Brazil, both are the same height, but Brazil weighs 180, Palelei weighs 200 In the same event, Leonard Fornette was the 13th fastest man in the state (6.62a) http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=174426#18419
As his name indicates, Sione Palelei is a Polynesian-American, Oceanian-American, Pacific Islander American They are pretty rare, they only make up 00.4% of the U.S. population, but have turned out football players such as Junior Seau, Troy Polamalu, Rey Maualuga, Mike Iupati, etc Note Palelei has offers to programs in states with the larger Polynesian populations: Hawaii, Utah, BYU, Washington State, Nevada, Arizona State...and some of those are trying to tell him he'll feel more at home going to their parts of the nation For example, Palelei said: "There are more Polynesians (Hawaii) than there is here in the South, so they were telling me they would make me feel at home," Palelei said."
That's what I was going with, but just wasn't sure since one ay sound is spelled with an e, the other is with ei.
ESPN.... Palelei fits the Cam Cameron offense July, 17, 2013 JUL 174:25PM ET By Gary Laney | ESPN.com RECOMMEND0 TWEET0 COMMENTS0 EMAIL PRINT BATON ROUGE, La. -- When you think of a Cam Cameron offense, one of the first things that comes to mind is his use of fast, versatile running backs in space who can make a tackler miss. Think LaDainian Tomlinson during Cameron's days as offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers. Or perhaps Ray Rice in Baltimore. "That's pretty much what they talked to me about," said Sione Palelei (Gonzales, La./East Ascension), the lightning-quick 3-star running back who committed on Wednesday, becoming the first running back to commit to the Tigers since Cameron became the offensive coordinator after last season. "They see me as a guy catching balls out of the backfield and using my speed to get to the edge." Sione Palelei Running back 2014 Committed: LSU Pos Rk Stars Grade Hometown 57 78 Gonzales, LAEvidence that LSU will go in this direction with its offense has accumulated since Cameron became the offensive coordinator. In spring ball, there appeared to be an emphasis in making running backs comfortable running pass routes. Prospects who have been able to sit in on offensive meetings have talked about Cameron's emphasis on creating mismatches and exploiting them. That's right up Palelei's alley. At 5-foot-10, 202 pounds, he's not so slight that he can't take the pounding one receives playing in the SEC. But he's also runs a 4.45 40-yard dash and has a knack for making people miss in space. The thought of Cameron scheming to get Palelei in a foot race with a linebacker has the potential to create worry for defensive coordinators. One person who should not be worried by Palelei's commitment is LSU's top target. Leonard Fournette (New Orleans/St. Augustine), the top running back and top player in the ESPN 300, remains a top priority for the Tigers, who need not only Fournette's impact, but also numbers at the position. LSU has but four scholarship running backs on the 2013 roster. One is senior Alfred Blue and the other three -- Jeremy Hill, Kenny Hilliard and Terrence Magee -- will all be draft eligible after this season and the recent pattern shows that draft-eligible Tigers do tend to leave school early. That means LSU will likely be in the market to sign at least two running backs in this class. LSU also gave another Louisiana back, Darrel Williams (Marrero, La./John Ehret) a good look on Tuesday, but he left without an offer. Williams fits the mold of the kind of backs LSU has had in the past. Big and physical, he's the kind of player who fits the Les Miles, downhill-runner mold. Does the commitment from Palelei mark a change in philosophy for LSU's offense? It might be the best evidence yet that LSU is, indeed, tweaking its offensive approach with Cameron.
That was my 1st guess. Also another forum they are saying his name is pronounced: Sione - See Oh nee (why not "nay?") Palelelei - Puh lay lee But the only official thing I've seen is that two people who actually know him say that everybody calls him "Boo," including everybody at his high school and all his teammates. The recruiting services (247, Rivals, Scout) also call him "Boo" either in his profile or articles they've written about him
