Indiana freshman defensive tackle Sio Nofoagatoto'a met with the media for the first time Wednesday afternoon to discuss his journey to college football, transition from running back to defensive tackle in high school, and more.

Watch his full comments in the embedded media player above, with a complete transcript available below.

Was it a natural transition to defensive tackle in high school?

"Sophomore year, I was around 230, 240, and then out of nowhere I was 280. I kind of decided, well, I can't play running back or linebacker at 280, so the best thing for me - I kind of looked at it like, right now I can be an athletic d-tackle which is not pretty common. I would say my footwork is pretty good compared to other d-tackles, so just seeing that, I always kept that in my mind. Whenever the running backs or linebackers were doing footwork stuff, I'd join in because that adds a different aspect to my game that some people might overlook, so that was how I looked at it.

What made IU the choice?

"As soon as I came on my visit, my first day here, I kind of knew. I wanted to commit on my visit, but then I kind of overlooked - I just wanted to see other schools and compare. Coming here with Coach Allen and how much he preaches family, my first week here seeing how close the whole team is - some coaches might preach something, but that's only the recruiting trip. You might get there and it might not be there. Just seeing how the whole team's close and how it trickles down from Coach Allen and the other coaches, I definitely knew that I made the right choice."

What was your journey to football and how did that bring you to Clearwater?

I was born in New Zealand. Rugby is the most dominant sport there, so I learned Rugby. I moved when I was eight to American Samoa, and that's where I picked up football. My dad and my uncle, they're pretty well-known in football back on the island, so it was kind of like something I had to do just living up to our last name. When I was in eighth grade, I kind of knew football was my way of getting a better education and doing something with my life and being able to give back to those who've helped me. When I was 15, we moved to Australia. Football was a secondary sport there, they only played nine-man for my age group. I went back into Rugby, and was trying to find a way - I was trying to go to junior college or something. My uncle knew my old head coach at high school, and there was an opportunity for me to come play high school football there. I was like, this is my chance to come play college football and find a way to play college football.

What's it like being able to go through this process with a high school teammate in D.K. Bonhomme?

It's been special. You meet somebody from a different part of the world, and you think, how could two people like this come together? Just seeing how we had the same thoughts about IU after our visits, it was kind of like, you trust someone so much, and just knowing they have the same feeling, it was a no-brainer that Bloomington was definitely our next home. It's been a special journey.

What was your reaction to the coaches telling you to change positions as you progressed into a defensive tackle?

I would say it was kind of weird, because when I was a freshman, I told myself 'I will never be a lineman.' I couldn't see myself being a lineman. But then 10th grade, when I started gaining weight, I saw it as like, if I become a lineman, I can be at least one of the most athletic linemen on the team. That's a way I'll be able to get college exposure, so that's how I saw it.

What was the progression getting to that point?

Getting to Clearwater, I was 280, and I was still on the light side of being a nose tackle. With them having a weight program, because in Australia, we didn't have practice every day, gym everyday, so just being other that helped me gain my weight and put it to good weight. And then just helping work on the little stuff that would eventually help me get here.

What else did you play besides running back?

I played running back, linebacker, tight end when I was in ninth-grade to sophomore year.

Did you have a favorite position? Do you miss playing offense at all?

I love running back, yeah. I was talking to Coach Hart, he said he would use me in the redzone, I don't know. I'm going to hold him up to it. I feel like I could still do it, but I'm going to hold him up to it, definitely ask him during the season.

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