Paea was the third Oregon State Beaver to win the Morris Trophy in 2009. In 2010 he became one of just five players to win the defensive award twice (Dana Wells, Steve Emtman, Sedrick Ellis, Will Sutton). No Morris Trophy winner came from so far away. Paea was born in New Zealand and grew up in Vava’u, Tongo where he was a junior rugby star. He didn’t play football until his family moved to the USA in 2005.  At Oregon State, he was selected co-team captain by his teammates for two straight years. He was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bears and played four years with them before joining the Washington Redskins in 2016. In 2017 he joined the Dallas Cowboys where he currently plays.