Josiah Tauaefa, sophomore on the field, junior academically, is coming off a stellar freshman year for the ‘Runners.
The Dallas native garnered numerous accolades in his first year of play, including a spot on the First Team All-Conference-USA team and Conference-USA Freshmen of the year award.
One of the reasons he chose UTSA was that it was close to Dallas, where his family lives, and so they can attend most of the home games. A talent for football runs in his family, as both of his brothers, Josh and Isacc, played at the collegiate level. Making his family proud is one of his main drives both on the field and academically.
Josiah has been playing football since he was four years old, and it has been a part of his life ever since. “It’s given me a free education, and that’s the biggest thing I’ve gotten out of it.” Josiah said, “It’s a huge platform at the collegiate level, a platform to reach people, and hopefully draw them to Christ.”
Josiah is a Communication major and plans to use it to possibly preach and minister the Christian gospel later on in his life. He takes after his father who was part of a group of athletes called the “Power Team,” who would go around and demonstrate remarkable physical feats. After getting the attention of a crowd, they would then gather to talk about faith and the gospel. Josiah plans to use his degree to help spread the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Josiah is a man of unwavering faith and is extremely grateful that God has given him the abilities that he has. He strives to practice his faith on and off the field. Being a part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he is able to practice his faith with fellow Christian athletes.
Josiah says he plays for many reasons, but his main reason is for his faith, “First and foremost, pleasing the Lord. To waste the gifts he’s given me is a sin, so every day I try to have that mindset,” he said. “He’s given me a purpose, and I don’t want to waste a day.”
Josiah likes to listen to rap before games, and some of his artists of choice include Kevin Gates, Meek Mill and DMX. He enjoys bowling in his free time and is a self-declared “strike king.” The UTSA football team won their first game this past Saturday against Baylor 17-10 and look to improve to 2-0 this coming weekend against Southern University.
