Santana Alo-Tupuola figures he was meant to play for Arizona State.
In 2024, he was playing for Georgia Tech, and the Sun Devils sauntered into Atlanta to take on Texas in the Peach Bowl. ASU even practiced at the Yellow Jackets' facility. Alo-Tupuola had a close friend and teammate who had committed to ASU, which was even more reason to want to see the Sun Devils pull off an upset.
Now the junior isn't just rooting for ASU; he's part of the team. He'll likely be the starter at center when the Sun Devils kick off the 2026 season against the Morgan State Bears on Sept. 5 at Mountain America Stadium.
After two years competing in the ACC, Alo-Tupuola (6-1, 335 pounds) entered the transfer portal, and ASU proved to be the right fit. How right?
"This
is my home. This is my place. I will be here till I graduate," he said after the Sun Devils wrapped up practice earlier this week.
Alo-Pupuola admitted entering the portal was like starting the recruiting process all over again. California and Big 12 foe Baylor were the suitors highest on his list. Then he got a call from ASU offensive line coach Saga Tuitele. He had conversations with other members of the staff, traveled to Tempe for an official visit and was immediately sold.
"It's the people," he said. "Everyone around the country says it's about the people. But these are really the best people you can have. You have great coaches. You have coaches who don't want to leave. They have families here, so you know they're not leaving, so you know you're set.
"You don't have to worry about any of that on the back end. You get to come out here in great weather and play ball. It's a blessing."
Alo-Tupuola, who is majoring in business administration, played in 13 games as a true freshman. He appeared in 10 games in 2025, starting four for a team that played in the ACC championship game and averaged 460 yards per game.
Offensive linemen are a heavily sought-after commodity, especially ones with playing experience in a Power 4 program.
He never had a doubt and said there was something different about the pitch from Tuitele and the ASU staff.
"(Tuitele) took a different approach," Alo-Tupuola said. "A lot of the coaching staffs out there were asking me, what do I think I can do for their program. Here it was like, `What do you want to accomplish?"
Center is one of those positions where fans might not notice a particular player unless there are issues. When Ben Coleman went down with a season-ending injury in the sixth game of the 2025 season, the Sun Devils were never quite the same in the trenches.
There haven't been many errant exchanges thus far in fall camp, so this appears to be one of those positions where the Sun Devils are settled on a starter.
Tuitele thought Alo-Tupuola, who spent two of his high school years at IMG Academy in Florida, was the perfect fit, too.
"He was very physical, liked contact," Tuitele said when asked what stood out about his center. "And then he was really twitchy. I saw a kid that loved to play physical football and at the same time had the athletic ability and quickness. He's trained his whole life to play the interior, and he takes a lot of pride in what he does."
The Sun Devils lost most of their key rotation players from last year's offensive line, so the unit is a bit in rebuild mode. It does have a few players in junior Wade Helton, sophomore Maki Stewart, and senior Makua Pule who got some valuable playing time last season due to injuries. Helton and Pule can also play center if Alo-Tupuloa needs a break.
"We have some versatility with some guys this year, and I like that," Tuitele said.
Stewart seems to be the heavy favorite to lock down one of the starting guard spots, with Helton a candidate as well. Dillingham recently singled out Stewart as one of the most improved players on the entire team. There is some competition at the starting tackle spots, with junior Champ Westbrooks and fifth-year seniorJalen Klemm the key athletes.
The team recently returned from thefour-day retreat at Camp Tontozona, which Alo-Tupuola said he enjoyed. The bonding opportunities were particularly important for a unit bringing in so many newcomers.
"They trapped us in a tight room, played in the middle of the woods; you don't have anything else," he said. "No phones, no service. You spend time with each other. It was good to see you come in for dinner; everybody is playing spoons, playing board games. It was old school."
The excursion had the desired effect.
"The line is coming along great," Alo-Tupuola said. "Coming in this spring helped us a lot. We got real close. Coach taught us to rely on each other when things got hard. Then we go up to Camp T. Our team has no excuse to not be on the same page. Everything has been set up to have a good season," he said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Transfer from Georgia Tech emerges as likely starting ASU center
