Eastern Washington University Athletics

Head Coach Aaron Best on Leiato: “He’s a flat-out, selfless type of player. He likes to cover kicks and hit people when he does. He has a great special teams mentality, and that also rings true on the defensive side of the ball. We’re excited to see him at the safety or rover position, and see where he fits whether it’s on the hash or at or near the box. He has multiple capabilities and he is very physical and loves contact. He has football instincts and at the end of the day he’s always around the football. Where exactly he will play is to be determined, but we expect a ton out of him in his tenure at Eastern. His hair also jumps out at you, much like his brother Fotu who is at the University of Oregon.”

HS: Graduated from Steilacoom HS in 2017. His head coach in high school was Richard Lane. Selected to the Tacoma News Tribune All-Area second team as a linebacker. He also earned first team All-SPSL honors as a linebacker. He had 125 total tackles as a senior with four sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, two blocked kicks and one forced fumble. He also rushed for 125 yards and passed for 130. He had at least 10 tackles in seven games, including 18 in a 33-23 win over Tumwater and 15 versus Stadium. He also had a sack, an interception and a blocked kick versus Tumwater. The Sentinels had an eight-game winning streak during the season and finished the year 8-3. Steilacoom defeated Olympic 29-14 in the State 2A Playoffs before losing to Liberty 20-13 in the second round. In his junior season, he earned second team All-SPSL honors as a defensive back and honorable mention as a quarterback. He also played as a freshman and sophomore, and competed in track and field in high school. He advanced to the State 2A Championships in the high hurdles as a sophomore, junior and senior, and in the javelin as a senior. His Steilacoom teammate, Marques Hampton Jr., also signed with the Eagles, and current Eagle Josh Lewis (’14) attended the school as well. In addition, former Eagle wide receiver Greg Herd (’09) and Ed Harris (’94) played there. He was named by the Seattle Times as a "White Chip" selection as one of the top 100 prospects in the state of Washington. Leiato is a two-star recruit, according to scout.com and 247sports.com, who also ranked him as the 30th best recruit in the state of Washington.
 
Personal: Full name is Anthony Pasesa Leiato. Born 10/6/98 in Orange County, Calif. Parents are Fotu and Linetta Leiato. His older brother, Fotu T. Leiato II, now plays for Oregon and made his debut versus EWU on Sept. 5, 2015. Nickname is “Sesa”. Name is pronounced “Puh-seh-suh” “Lay-ah-toe.”