Australian tackle Frankie Tinilau is finally in Miami and out to ‘make a statement’
On one of his first days practicing in pads for La Salle, Frankie Tinilau could not match his teammates. The Royal Lions do not yet have a jersey big enough for the 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive lineman, so it was a good thing the Miami Hurricanes sent Tinilau a black practice jersey a few weeks ago.
While the rest of his teammates ran around in their green or white La Salle jerseys, Tinilau stood out because of his hulking frame, but also his attire. Altogether, the three-star tackle already looked every bit like a college football when he participated in one of his first high school football practices Monday in Miami.
“People like that,” Royal Lions coach Helder Valle said, “are not supposed to be moving like that.”
Tinilau has now been in South Florida for a few weeks after making the full-time move from Brisbane, Australia, to the United States in July. He’s part of an exciting, up-and-coming team at La Salle — the Royal Lions went undefeated in the regular season last year and have multiple Division I prospects — and will soon get to test himself against some of the best competition in the world, as La Salle is stuck in District 14-2M with Northwestern, Edison, Booker T. Washington and Jackson.
It’s a challenge the Royal Lions are embracing — their 2021 season was, by just about any measure, the best in program history — and an opportunity Tinilau is looking forward to. When he orally committed to the Hurricanes back in April he was mostly unknown as a recruit — he still ranks outside the top 1,000 in the 247Sports composite rankings — because there was little film of his play in Australia, and even fewer eyes in the recruiting and college football world had seen him in person.
Valle said it has “put a chip on his shoulder.” Tinilau said he’s out to “make a statement.”
The senior knows there’s a stigma attached to international prospects, an assumption they’re raw because the competition or coaching abroad might not be good enough. Tinilau, however, pushes back: In Australia, Tinilau played in Gridiron Queensland and made the league’s all-star team, representing Queensland in the country’s national championships; at 14, he was already playing against grown men.
“Not one part of me is threatened. I came here ... I didn’t care who I fought,” he said. “Four-star, five-star—I’m going to treat you exactly the same. Once you’re on the line, there’s no attachments and I don’t care about the rankings at all. I’m just here to play football and have fun.”
At La Salle’s practice Monday, Tinilau was dominant, although everyone knows the games — especially against the inner-city Miami foes on the schedule — will be something different.
It will also be a chance to prove he’s better than the rankings insist and, potentially, a chance for the Hurricanes to feel even better about their offensive line haul in the Class of 2023.
Tinilau was the fourth player to pledge to Miami’s 2023 recruiting class and, back then, the Hurricanes only had one blue-chip commitment and only one other offensive lineman. Now, Miami is up to nine four- and five-star commits, and five offensive linemen, including five-star Bradenton IMG Academy tackle Francis Mauigoa.
Tinilau felt a different level of excitement when he went to the Hurricanes’ recruiting barbecue last month.
“Everyone kind of knew we were going to bring some guys, but I didn’t expect it to be where it is right now,” Tinilau said. “We have a full line right now. It’s good to see and it’s also a blessing to see guys also believing in it. It’s not just me, but the community, the players and the commits.”
For now, Tinilau is living with his mother in an Airbnb, while the family looks for some full-time arrangement in South Florida. Once his family finds a long-term rental, Tinilau said his father and sister will join him in the US, planning to make the permanent move to Florida to be close to Coral Gables.
“Me and my family have been through a lot, and it’s finally time just to go out there and make a statement, not only for me and the boys out here, but also the kids back in Australia, Germany, just people that want to play internationally,” Tinilau said. “They can know we can not only play, but dominate.”
