SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Soliai is doing more than talking the talk. The former University of Utah and NFL defensive lineman is also walking the walk. He returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, completing coursework at his alma mater after more than a decade of playing pro football.
Soliai, who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2007, played in the NFL for a decade. He reportedly earned more than $44 million during stints with the Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
Money, though, didn’t deter Soliai from his goal of graduating from college. It was something he was going to do, especially after encouraging so many others — particularly loved ones — to do so.
The 6-foot-4, 345-pound defensive tackle, who played in a Pro Bowl and was a franchised player earning more than $12 million one season, said looking at his kids was his biggest motivation. He didn’t want to continually preach to them about getting a degree and not have one himself.
“It’s very gratifying. I’m proud of what he did,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “He didn’t need to do that, but I think he wanted to be a good example to his kids and let them know that he got his degree. Paul and his wife (LeTasha) are both very adamant about education.”
So, after spending his first two years of NFL retirement to be with family, Soliai returned to the U. He accepted an undergraduate student assistant position with the football program last season and returned to the classroom to finish school.
Whittingham said Soliai wanted to show his kids how important the latter is to him. The Soliais have two children. Paul Jr., is 8 years old, and Hannah is 4.
“I want to hold my son’s hand when I walk up (in commencement), so he can see what I preach. I came back and I finished school,” Soliai said. ”I want him to feel how important it is to get that degree and just see that when his dad sets a goal and goes for it, he goes and gets it. He doesn’t wait.”
Soliai emphasized that he wants Paul Jr., to be there to witness it. They’re hoping to do so when graduation exercises are held in December. Soliai is looking forward to walking the walk as a graduate. The importance, thereof, backs up his speeches to siblings, kids and football players about the value of education. That includes folks back in American Samoa, where he graduated from high school. Soliai noted how hard it is to get to college from there, explaining he was once someone that could hardly speak English.
Although he earned an associate’s degree from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, Soliai is particularly proud of his most recent academic success. He told his wife so recently.
“I’ve never been so happy,” he said. “I was more happy than when I got drafted in the fourth round to the Miami Dolphins, to get that degree.”
It’s something Soliai has spoken about doing for a long time. The demands of his NFL career, however, led to focusing on his body and never taking a step back. He always wanted to be the professional teams wanted him to be.
That’s not to say, however, that graduation was far from his thoughts over the years.
It remained a constant.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, though, Soliai will have to wait a few more months to participate in commencement. The cap and gown was supposed to be donned last week.
“People say how do I feel about the virus. It hurt me when I woke up it was supposed to be my graduation day,” Soliai said. “But we’ve got to do everything to keep everybody safe and that’s the main point. But it doesn’t stop me from being happy for what I accomplished. I got my degree. I’m happy. Now when they told me there was going to be a walk in December I said yes, I want to walk.”
The final path, however, wasn’t easy. It was tough to juggle being a coach, student, father and husband.
“I thank my wife so much and my kids because they are my No. 1 support. They just supported me through this. They knew what I wanted to finish. They know when I set a goal I’m going to try to conquer it and try to get there.” — Paul Soliai
As a student assistant, Soliai would arrive at the Utah football facility at 6:30 a.m., when the staff was in, and stay until 5:30 p.m. He’d often stay for another hour, hour-and-a-half, to watch practice film — getting home around 8 or so and then delving into his schoolwork.
“I tried to cut some time off,” Soliai said. “But most of the time I was working the same time as most of the staff — coming in in the morning and leaving at 6 or 7 o’clock at night.”
Such a schedule obviously added to the degree of difficulty.
“Yes. It was hard. I thank my wife so much and my kids because they are my No. 1 support. They just supported me through this,” Soliai said. “They knew what I wanted to finish. They know when I set a goal I’m going to try to conquer it and try to get there.”
Soliai was a junior college All-American as an offensive lineman. He made the move to defensive line after a redshirt year at Utah. Over the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Soliai played in 24 games for the Utes — earning all-conference honors as a senior.
Then came the NFL.
Soliai was with Miami from 2007-13 before concluding a 138-game career with stints in Atlanta (2014-15) and Carolina (2016). He made 219 tackles with 5.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
Football is a big part of Soliai’s life. He’s grateful for a family that appreciates his love for the sport. Same goes for his desire to finish school.
The opportunity to advance on both fronts presented itself last year.
“I’ve always wanted to become a coach. I had great coaches that coached me in the league and in college when I was there,” Soliai said. “So I thought why not try to be an assistant, a student coach, for the University of Utah and then try to finish my degree at the same time.”
Soliai acknowledged it was tough, perhaps even more difficult than his playing days as a student-athlete — playing football and going to school at the same time.
“I think I was so committed to the boys,” he said. “It seems like they always had questions and then I was doing stuff after practice with them and letting them know how the league was.”
After one more year with the Utes, Soliai will probably pursue a coaching job in the NFL.
“But we’ll see,” he said.
Paul and LeTasha moved back to Utah for a reason. It’s a special place.
“It was always on my mind to get back to Utah because without them I never would have left Samoa, I probably would have been in the Army,” he noted. “I love it.”
Soliai now holds the title of a Utah graduate, much to the delight of those around him. It’s an accomplishment the university puts great emphasis on.
Absolutely. It’s the No. 1 reason they come to college — to get their degree and that’s not just lip service,” Whittingham said. “We genuinely believe that and preach it and do our very best to instill it in each one of our athletes.”
If there’s a silver lining to the campus being closed and classes being taught exclusively online because of the coronavirus, it’s the increased offering of upper division courses this summer.
“So we’re taking the opportunity to really reach back to our student-athletes that maybe didn’t finish because this is kind of a unique opportunity to be able to do that,” said Utah athletics director Mark Harlan, who is hoping to have more examples in the program like Soliai and others. “Because the best thing you can do is graduate and we want to assist those that are close in any way that we can.”