The first four years of Palaie Gaotoete IV’s college football career haven’t gone the way many people envisioned they would.
A five-star prospect ranked as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the recruiting class of 2018, Gaoteote earned immediate playing time at USC, recording 38 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a true freshman. But he was plagued by an ankle injury that limited him to only eight games in 2019 and played in only two games in 2020, when he missed time with a concussion before entering the transfer portal.