‘Something out of a movie:’ Centennial alum joins hometown Raiders

Jonah Laulu had to pull over and gather his thoughts to make sure the text was real.

“It’s like something out of a movie,” the defensive lineman said Wednesday at his locker in the Raiders’ facility.

Laulu, a seventh-round pick in April, was cut by the Colts on Aug. 27. The Las Vegas native got a text from his agent one day later saying Laulu was going home to play for the Raiders.

“I found out when I was literally driving to the Colts facility to sign back to the practice squad. I was five minutes away,” Laulu said. “As soon as I saw the message, I pulled over and my heart started beating. I started checking social media to see if it was real because social media finds out even before you do. I saw the Raiders were picking me up and immediately texted my mom. I was like, ‘Look who I play for now.’

“She immediately just hit me back with a ‘Raiiiiiders.’”

Long road home

Laulu starred at Centennial High School in Las Vegas before moving on to the University of Hawaii.

He committed to the Rainbow Warriors as a tight end but transitioned to defensive end on campus. He struggled at first, but got the hang of things by his fourth season.

A coaching change at Hawaii then prompted a transfer to Oklahoma before the 2022 campaign. Laulu spent another season on the edge with the Sooners before being asked to switch positions again, this time to defensive tackle.

He put on 30 pounds and adapted so well in 2023 he got on NFL teams’ radar despite not being a full-time starter. Laulu’s speed and athleticism stood out at defensive tackle since he spent most of his time in college training at defensive end.

The Raiders hoped to sign him as an undrafted free agent, but Indianapolis grabbed him with the 234th overall pick. He was available again before long. The Colts waived Laulu, and before they could get him back on their practice squad, the Raiders claimed him Aug. 28 and put him on their 53-man roster.

“He was here at our local pro day and I liked him then,” coach Antonio Pierce said. “I was a little disappointed we didn’t get a chance to (sign) him, but you watch, you just look at your roster, you look at everybody else, you look at the waiver wire and you make a decision. And we felt Jonah gives us some more depth and a little bit more juice in the D-line room.”

Home cooking

Most players who change teams just before the start of the season have logistical concerns like finding a place to live.

Not Laulu.

“I’m staying at my mama’s house,” he said, laughing. “I’ll save my money. I’m staying there, eating her food, taking food from the facility home, taking naps on the couch. All that. I’ve literally been at home with my family, making my mom do my laundry. It’s great.

“My friends are super hyped. I just couldn’t ask for a better situation.”

Laulu even attended Centennial’s football game last week, a 43-32 loss to Desert Hills (Utah).

“I just wanted to show some love,” he said. “I’m just really grateful and appreciative to even be in the NFL and be considered an NFL player. It’s something I dreamed about as a kid, so to have it come true in my hometown and actually be around these guys, a great defensive line and a great organization under a great head coach, what else could you ask for?”

‘I literally stole that from Maxx’

Laulu’s signature technique as an edge rusher was an outside spin move.

It’s one that should look familiar to Raiders fans.

“It’s what kind of put me on the radar and I literally stole that from Maxx (Crosby),” Laulu said.

Laulu would watch videos on YouTube and Instagram of Crosby when he was at Hawaii, studying the way the Raiders star got off the line of scrimmage and set up his pass-rush moves. Laulu still has some of those clips on his phone.

“I would just screen-record it and watch it on my phone in slow-motion,” he said. “I would be in my room practicing stuff. I definitely stole it from him.”

Laulu hasn’t told Crosby that yet, despite the two now being just two locker stalls away.

“It’s weird being around guys you idolized,” Laulu said. “You have to treat them normal because you don’t want to act weird. But acting normal around people you idolize is hard so I just don’t talk to anybody. They think I’m quiet, but I’m really not. I’m just trying not to act weird.

“I just think of myself as a regular dude who just gets to be here.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.