Pili was born on April 2, 1999, the eldest of seven children.[1][2] His father had moved to Alaska from Hawaii in 1990 and his mother grew up in Barrow, Alaska, the most northernmost settlement in the United States.[2] He lived the first few years of his life in Barrow, later moving to Anchorage.[2][3] He played several sports growing up and attended Dimond High School in Anchorage, where he played football until the first game of his senior season.[2] Pili transferred to Westview High School in Portland, Oregon, to finish his high school career.[2] He had received little attention from college football teams while at Dimond but began receiving a significant amount of offers after transferring to Westview; he ultimately committed to play for the USC Trojans.[2]
College career
Pili, a defensive tackle, weighed 345 pounds in his freshman year at USC and saw significant playing time that year, appearing in nine games, two as a starter, and posting 14 tackles as well as a blocked field goal.[4][5] The following year, he played in all 12 games and had two starts, posting 12 tackles and a sacks.[6] In 2019, he had 18 tackles, three pass breakups and a fumble forced in 13 games played.[6] Pili posted five tackles in four games played during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.[4]
Pili was expected to see significant action in the 2021 season, but tore his achilles tendon prior to the start of the season and missed the entire year.[7] In his final year, 2022, he brought his weight down to 315 pounds, played 14 games and had a career-high 25 tackles in addition to one sack and a pass breakup.[5][8][9] He finished his collegiate career with 74 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss, and four sacks in 52 games played.[9][10]
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Pili was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.[12] He made the team's final roster, becoming the first Alaskan to be on an NFL roster since 2014.[3] He was waived on November 4 and re-signed to the practice squad three days later.[13] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024.[14]
On November 9, 2024, Pili was waived by the Dolphins.
Seattle Seahawks
On November 11, 2024, Pili was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks, but was waived five days later and re-signed to the practice squad.[15][16][17]
