The upcoming 2026 season is the start of a NEW ERA for SDSU. Sons of Montezuma is putting into focus our top San Diego State football players for you to know heading into the PAC-12 era.
- Name: Sione Hala
- Position: Linebacker
- Class: Senior
- Height/Weight: 6’1″, 225 lbs
- Hometown: Los Angeles, California
- Previous School: Weber State, Boston College
A product of St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, CA), Sione Hala joins the Aztecs after spending three years at ACC program Boston College and 2025 at FCS program Weber State.
Hala transfers to SDSU after appearing in 10 games racking up 64 total tackles, 37 solo tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception with the Wildcats last season.
Hala and 2025 captain Tano Letuli are the only seniors of the eight linebackers SDSU has going into 2026. Despite only appearing and starting in six games for the Aztecs last season due to suffering multiple injuries, Letuli is a lock at middle linebacker.
One of the blows that the Aztecs suffered to the transfer portal was the departure of linebacker Owen Chambliss. The 2025 team leader in tackles (110) followed former SDSU Defensive Coordinator Rob Aurich to Nebraska.
The departure of Chambliss leaves an All-Mountain West First Team hole in production that the Aztecs hope to fill with the addition of Hala at the weakside linebacker spot. Can an all-conference first team void be filled by a transfer from an FCS program?
We will have to wait and see, as that is why Hala is one to watch in 2026.
A couple things to keep in mind while watching the linebacker this upcoming season is prior to Weber State, Hala played as a defensive back amongst high-level competition dating back to his high school days.
St. John Bosco is a Trinity League member, arguably the most competitive prep league in the nation with juggernauts that produce NCAA and NFL talent such as Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) and Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA).
In his time playing on Friday nights, Hala played in the secondary as a safety and was a four-star recruit that earned nine offers from power four programs. The linebacker’s safety background in a top-tier prep program and league suggests a natural athlete.
Meanwhile, the offers to Oregon, Washington and Arizona State, but ultimately deciding to go to Boston College out of high school suggests natural talent.
Hala didn’t experience the opportunity he had hoped for at the FBS level after redshirting in 2022 and playing in limited action at Boston College. This led to a transfer to FCS program Weber State for his junior season.
Portland State of the Big Sky Conference, the same conference that Hala transfers from, will visit the Aztecs in a Week 1 matchup on Sep. 5. Weber State and Hala visited Portland State in a mid-October clash last season. His Wildcats defeated the Vikings 43-27 as Hala tallied six tackles and a tackle for loss in the winning effort.
Projected to starting FBS minutes in his final college season on the Mesa, at a position that was crucial to SDSU’s lockdown defense and 9-win season in 2025, keep your eyes on No. 56 Sione Hala in 2026.
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