Minium: Seth Noatala Responded Like a Champion for ODU Football When His Number Was Called

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The news was deeply disappointing, but Seth Naotala said his Christian faith doesn’t allow him to sulk when he faces adversity.

He had just finished spring practice with the James Madison football team  in 2024 when he was called into meet with coaches. 

We're sorry, but we just don’t have room on our roster for you, Seth was told. You’ve been here four years. You’ve got your degree. Thank you for all you did for JMU football.

Seth returned home to Newport News, got a job and prepared to begin his post-football life.

“In everything that happens to you, it always opens an opportunity,” he said. “You don’t always see it. But God opens a door for you.”

His door opened when Old Dominion Head Coach Ricky Rahne called a week before the 2024 season began. We need a special teams player. You interested in playing for us?

He quickly enrolled in classes – it was the first day of school – and four days after the call from Rahne, he was on a plane with ODU to a game at South Carolina.

“It was so crazy,” he said. “I wasn’t really in shape and had no idea what I was doing. But I actually played in that game.

“I knew I’d been given a great opportunity, and I wanted to take advantage of it.”

He has taken advantage of it in a big way.

In what is simply a stunning reversal in form, the former JMU special teams player will start at middle linebacker today for ODU when the Monarchs and Dukes square off in Bridgeforth Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

The last time ODU and JMU met in Harrisonburg, Seth forced an ODU fumble on a kickoff and the Dukes outlasted the Monarchs, 30-27.

This time he returns to Bridgeforth Stadium wearing ODU blue rather than JMU purple.

Revenge? No way, he said.

“I had a great experience at JMU,” he said. “I really loved my time there. I’m deeply grateful for the chance the coaches there gave me.

“I’m looking forward to it. I have a lot of friends there.”

The game itself is, well, huge.

It is the fourth time the teams have met since ODU and JMU joined the Sun Belt. The Dukes have won the first three games in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry.

ODU (4-2 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt) almost certainly has to win to keep its Sun Belt Conference title hopes alive. ODU had won four in a row, including a 45-26 victory at Virginia Tech, before being upset at Marshall, 48-24, last week.

A victory by JMU (5-1, 3-0) would give the Dukes the upper hand in the Sun Belt.

The Dukes have one of the nation’s best and most physical defenses. They are tied for fourth nationally among the nation’s 134 FBS schools, allowing just 229 yards per game.

Led by quarterback Colton Joseph, ODU, meanwhile, has the nation’s 12th-most productive offense. The Monarchs average almost 489 yards per game.

The game has long been sold out at the 24,877-seat Bridgeforth Stadium and will also be witnessed by a national TV audience on ESPNU.

Oddsmakers rate the game a virtual tossup, with JMU a slight 1 ½-point favorite.

Rahne and the Monarchs were bitterly disappointed by their poor performance last week at Marshall but Rahne said “all of our goals remain in front of us.

“We have to manage the environment. We know it’s going to be a good environment. We’ve got to take care of the football. And we’ve got to run the ball and be able to stop their run.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to show how we respond” after the disappointing loss at Marshall.

Seth was largely a special teams player at JMU, where the graduate of Woodside High in Newport News walked-on without a scholarship.

For much of last season, he also played special teams for ODU. But as injuries eroded depth at linebacker, he became the backup for his younger brother, Koa, at middle linebacker.

Koa led the team and was 10th in the Sun Belt with 88 tackles last season and was a second-team All-Sun Belt linebacker.

Seth finished 12th at ODU with 26 tackles and had a sack and two tackles for a loss. The 26 tackles was a career high.

He thus earned a scholarship and as fall practice began, was third on the depth chart at middle linebacker behind All-American Jason Henderson and Koa.

Henderson missed most of last season with a knee injury and then retired after ODU’s second game this season. And then Koa went down with an injury, one that will sideline him from today’s game.

Suddenly, Seth was a starter and has acquitted himself well in four starts.

He is sixth on the team with 30 tackles and had a career-high 12 at Marshall last week.

“Ever since I started playing football, I’ve just been sticking to God’s plan,” he said.

“I try not to be surprised when change happens. I just acknowledge the journey God has put me on. He’s been so good to me.”

And Seth is taking advantage of his second chance off the field as well. He is working on a Master's degree in public health and hopes to graduate this spring. 

His Christian faith comes from his family, and his parents, Tony and Shantell, and his three siblings, including sister Siena, have needed to be strong.

Their oldest brother, Kalepo, was preparing for his second season at the University of Hawaii when, in 2017, he broke his neck while diving into the Pacific Ocean. He was paralyzed from the chest down and while he can move his arms, he has trouble grasping with his fingers.

He is confined to a wheelchair. The family has come together to care for their brother, with in-laws moving into the house to help care for Kalepo.

“Kalepo is coaching a rec league team this year,” Seth said. “He’s doing well.”

The Naotala family is of Samoan ancestry – Tony and Shantell’s parents hail from American Samoa. Because of the unique Samoan culture, and their DNA, more than 60 NFL players hail from the Samoan islands.

Long hair is part of the culture, and when they’re both on the field, it’s at times difficult to tell Koa and Seth apart. Both stand about 6-feet tall and weigh 225 pounds and both have long, flowing hair that drapes nearly down to their waists.

Asked earlier this week about what he loves best about his hair, Seth said “it makes it easier for my Mom to see me on the field.”

His parents told him while he was at JMU to keep a positive attitude even though he was getting precious little playing time at linebacker.

“I didn’t have the role that I wanted to play but I but woke up every day with a positive attitude,” he said. “This season, I was third string, and here I am.

“You always prepare like your number is going to be called.”

And when called, he responded like a champion.