Lofa Tatupu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Seattle Seahawks — No. 51 | |
| Middle linebacker | |
| Date of birth: November 15, 1982 | |
| Place of birth: San Diego, California | |
| Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | Weight: 226 lb (103 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 2005 for the Seattle Seahawks | |
| Career history | |
| College: Maine & Southern California | |
| NFL Draft: 2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season) |
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| Tackles | 335 |
| Sacks | 6.5 |
| INTs | 8 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Mosiula Mea'alofa Tatupu (born November 15, 1982 in San Diego, California) is an American football linebacker for the NFL Seattle Seahawks.
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[edit] College career
Tatupu was an All-American for the USC Trojans where he wore the number 58, which is now worn by another Samoan linebacker, Rey Maualuga.
Tatupu transferred to USC after spending his freshman year at the University of Maine. He started 25 games in two years for the Trojans as they won back-to-back national championships. He finished his USC career with 202 tackles, nine sacks, seven interceptions, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 18 pass deflections, and one touchdown.
[edit] NFL career
[edit] 2005 NFL Draft
Tatupu was selected 45th overall in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Some teams had him rated lower than the second round. Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell, used two fourth-round picks to move up nine spots in the draft to get him, took some criticism for trading up for Tatupu, who was considered slightly undersized and a little slow.[1]
| Pre-draft measureables | |||||||||
| Wt | 40y | 20ss | 3-cone | Vert | BP | Wonderlic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 238 lb* | 4.83s* | 4.18s* | 7.32s* | 35 in* | 23*[2] | 29*[3] | |||
(* represents NFL Combine)
[edit] Seattle Seahawks
As a rookie in 2005 Tatupu was named to the Pro Bowl, while leading the NFC Champion Seahawks in tackles, with 104. He also had four sacks and three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown in Seattle's 42-0 Monday Night Football victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. On December 2, 2007, he continued his success against the Philadelphia Eagles, intercepting three passes and returning them for a total of 110 yards off of Eagles Quarterback A.J. Feely. Interestingly, this meant that Feely had thrown for more yards to Tatupu than to any of his recievers.
In Tatupu's first three seasons, he's led the Seahawks in tackles. He has been voted to the Pro Bowl every season he's been in the NFL: 2005, 2006 and 2007. He emerged as the Seahawks leader on defense, making his teammates more attentive in preparing by watching more game tape and calling defensive signals on the field.[1]
On March 21, 2008 the Seahawks signed Tatupu to a six-year contract extension through the year 2015. The deal is worth $42 million, with $18 million guaranteed alone in the years 2008 to 2010. The contract made Tatupu one of the six highest-paid linebackers in the League. Tatupu responded by stating, "I'm going to end my career with the Seahawks."[1]
[edit] Personal
He is the son of former USC Trojan and New England Patriots fullback Mosi Tatupu. Lofa Tatupu was born in San Diego but raised in Plainville, Massachusetts.
Played Quarterback in high school, graduating from King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, MA; graduating in 2001.
He has been nicknamed by Keith Olbermann, co-host of NBC's Football Night in America as "Loofah Tatupu", another of his swipes at Bill O'Reilly, whose The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel shares the same time slot as Olbermann's self-titled MSNBC news program, Countdown.
On Saturday, May 10th 2008, Lofa Tatupu was arrested on DUI charges in Kirkland, WA. Breathalyzer tests measured his BAC at between 0.155 and 0.158, nearly double the state's legal limit of 0.08. Taputu's car, a 2006 Hyundai, was seen driving erratically by the arresting officer. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c John Clayton, Tatupu agrees to six-year extension worth more than $40 million, ESPN.com, March 21, 2008.
- ^ Packers.com » News » Stories » April 12, 2005: Gil Brandt's NFL Draft Analysis By Position: Linebackers
- ^ *Lofa Tatupu, ILB, Southern Cal - 2005 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange
- ^ Seahawks | Seahawks' Tatupu apologizes after arrest | Seattle Times Newspaper
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