The third in a series of looks at opposing players Irish fans should be worried about in 2008.   Look below for the rest, or click on the "Profiles of Fear" tag at the bottom for the rest.

Name: Fili Moala

School: University of Southern California

Position: Defensive Tackle

Year: Senior

Defensive tackle is a rather difficult position to analyze without just watching the individuals or units play.  You'll get some sacks registered, but nothing compared to a defensive end, and some tackles, although significantly fewer than a linebacker.  Much like if an offensive line is not giving up sacks and getting good yards per carry for its running backs you consider them a success, if a defensive line is stopping the run and harassing the quarterback, all is most likely well.   Some of your best defensive tackles are drawing two or three players to them every snap and will barely sniff whoever has the ball, but their mere presence frees up plenty of room for their teammates to be successful.

Other times, however, it's much more obvious why a tackle is doing his job.  In a few cases, its due to the sheer ridiculousness of their statistics (like Trevor Laws).  Other times, it is when they're a consensus top three pick, if not first overall, in any 2009 mock draft you can get your hands on.  Granted, James Surowiecki's Wisdom of Crowds theory is distorted when one voice has too much influence - as I imagine ESPN has in this case - but there's got to be something special about the 6' 5", 295 pound Moala that has the next level drooling.

The projection of Moala to First Team All-American and NFL Draft greatness seems pretty solid in its logic, although it is assuming that top ten pick Sedrick Ellis' presence, along with that of slasher movie villain (just ask opposing quarterbacks; the Halloween music might as well be playing) Lawrence Jackson, was forcing Moala under the radar.  The opposing viewpoint would say Moala only registered his 32 tackles and 3 sacks last season because so much attention was paid to those around him, but I'll choose to believe the experts on this occasion, especially when coupled with the general greatness of Pete Carroll's defensive lines since his arrival in Troy.

With defensive end Kyle Moore balancing the line from the outside and the usual assortment of top-tier Trojan prospects joining him (Everson Griffen, Jackson's replacement, was an all-universe recruit), it seems foolish to think that opposing teams will be able to focus solely on Moala.  He's started at least two games in the previous three seasons, including all of them in '07, and If his production continues its steady climb, he'll probably have Ellis-like numbers (58 tackles, 8.5 sacks) by the end of 2008, along with some invitations to the Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Award ceremonies.

Some of Moala's best games in college have come against the Irish, as he had five tackles and a sack in last season's thumping and was Laws-like in '06, recording five tackles (two for loss), a sack, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection.  After four pass deflections in '06, Moala didn't register any last season, although he may have been doing his part to free up the rest of his defensive line mates, who combined for fifteen.  Phil Steele has the Trojan defensive line as the best in the PAC-10 despite the loss of Ellis and Jackson, so the return of Moala and Moore obviously factored in there.  He's also the cousin of former Oregon Duck first round pick and current Baltimore Raven Haloti Ngata, so there's an All-American, NFL All-Rookie pedigree in the family.

Moala got into a little trouble back in March, but nothing serious (especially for a Trojan; zing!).  Apparently Moala was hanging out with the Cohens at a bar in Newport Beach, doing shots with Peter Gallagher's eyebrows, when a fight broke out inside that Moala was not a part of.  After being told by the police to get on the ground with everyone else outside, Moala initially complied before running back inside the bar - possibly to attempt to break it up, just watch or take one last pass at Summer Roberts - which will generally cause you to get arrested for disobeying a police officer.   Not anything malicious, but just something really, really, really stupid. 

You'd probably go back inside the bar, too.

I asked the find folks over at Conquest Chronicles to give me just a brief summary of what makes Moala dangerous (it is Fourth of July week, and I don't want to bog down any voluntary contributors with an essay assignment), and they were happy to oblige me with the following:

The loss of Sedrick Ellis moves an under-the-radar Moala into the main leadership role on the defensive line. Moala is explosive off the snap, uses his hands well, and often requires double teams to keep him out of the backfield.

After going against the likes of Alan Branch, Glen Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis the last two seasons, this won't be anything the Irish line hasn't already dealt with.  Considering the lack of success they've had in blocking those top-flight monsters in the middle, there will need to be plenty of improvements made in regards to protecting the offensive backfield, especially since Moala already has an acquired taste for the blue and gold.