Tani Tupou Explained
Tani Tupou |
Number: | 44, 93 |
Position: | Defensive tackle |
Birth Date: | 13 December 1992 |
Birth Place: | Marysville, Washington, U.S. |
Height Ft: | 6 |
Height In: | 1 |
Weight Lbs: | 284 |
College: | Washington |
Undraftedyear: | 2016 |
Pastteams: |
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Highlights: |
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Statlabel1: | Games played |
Statvalue1: | 2 |
Pfr: | T/TupoTa01 |
Taniela Tupou (born December 13, 1992) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at the University of Washington. He also plays rugby for the Seattle Seawolves of Major League Rugby (MLR). His position is at prop.[1]
Early life
Tupou attended Archbishop Murphy high school in Everett, Washington, where he played football as a strongside defensive end and as a tight end. He led the Wildcats to the WIAA State Championship game at the Tacoma Dome in 2010.[2] Tupou graduated from Archbishop Murphy in 2011.[3] Tupou is of Tongan and Hawaiian descent.
College career
Tupou verbally committed to the University of Washington on April 8, 2010.[3] Tupou redshirted his first year on campus before playing the next four seasons. In his five years at Washington Tupou appeared in 46 games for the Huskies as a defensive tackle and recorded 59 tackles.[2]
Professional career
Seattle Seahawks
On May 9, 2016, Seattle Seahawks signed Tupou as a fullback / defensive tackle after participating in their rookie mini-camp.[4] [5] He played in the team's season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins on September 11.[6]
On September 13, 2016, Tupou was released by the Seahawks.[7]
Atlanta Falcons
During April 2017, Tupou played as a defensive tackle for The Spring League, a developmental football instructional league.[8] Tupou received an invitation to attend rookie minicamp for the Atlanta Falcons. On May 14, 2017, following minicamp, Tupou signed with the Falcons.[9] He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Falcons' practice squad the next day.[10] [11] He was released on September 6, 2017.[12] He was signed to the practice squad on September 19.[13] He was promoted to the active roster on October 10, 2017.[14] He was waived on October 19, 2017 and was later re-signed to the practice squad.[15] [16] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on January 15, 2018.[17]
On April 11, 2018, the Falcons waived Tupou with a non-football injury designation.[18]
Arizona Cardinals
On August 22, 2018, Tupou signed with the Arizona Cardinals.[19] He was waived on September 1, 2018.[20]
San Diego Fleet
In 2019, Tupou joined the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football.[21] [22] In the first game of the season, Tupou recorded 2 tackles and a sack, and finished the year with 13 tackles and 4 quarterback hits.[23] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[24]
Seattle Dragons
During the 2020 XFL Draft, the Seattle Dragons selected Tupou in the seventh round.[25] He was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season on January 21, 2020.[26] [27] He was activated from injured reserve on March 11, 2020.[28] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[29]
The Spring League
Tupou signed with the Jousters of The Spring League in October 2020.[30]
St. Louis BattleHawks
On November 17, 2022, Tupou was drafted by the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL.[31] He was not part of the roster after the 2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[32]
Professional rugby career
After playing in the XFL and the league folded in 2020, Tupou tried to get back in the NFL by doing combines on the side. Tupou then got a call from Peter Pasque, the general manager of the American Raptors in Glendale, Colorado and asked if he wanted to try rugby out. After stepping onto the pitch for the Raptors, Tupou said, "I just fell in love with the game".
On January 27, 2022, Tupou signed with his hometown Seattle Seawolves of the Major League Rugby (MLR) as a part of their front row. The crossover athlete marks his third professional contract with a Seattle team.[33]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Seattle Seawolves Signs Taniela Tupou. 28 January 2022.
- Web site: 90 - Taniela Tupou. Washington Athletics. May 24, 2016.
- Web site: 247.com. Taniela Tupou. May 24, 2016.
- Web site: Condotta. Bob. Seahawks sign 5, including FB Taniela Tupou, and release 5 others, including CB Mohammed Seisay. SeattleTimes.com. Seattle Times. May 9, 2016. May 24, 2016.
- Web site: Bell. Gregg. Seahawks sign ex-UW DL Taniela Tupou as 284-pound FB, waive Mohammed Seisay, have special role for Brandon Browner. TheNewsTribune.com. The News Tribune. May 9, 2016. May 24, 2016.
- Web site: Tani Tupou . nfl.com . January 2, 2017.
- Web site: Seahawks Sign Fullback Will Tukuafu And Cornerback Neiko Thorpe. Boyle. John. Seahawks.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160915182922/http://www.seahawks.com/news/2016/09/13/seahawks-sign-fullback-will-tukuafu-and-cornerback-neiko-thorpe. 2016-09-15.
- Web site: Spring League releases initial player roster . 10 April 2017 .
- Web site: Falcons Sign WR Reggie Davis And DL Taniela Tupou. https://web.archive.org/web/20171217233433/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/blog/article-1/Falcons-Sign-WR-Reggie-Davis-and-DL-Taniela-Tupou/28dd39ca-ab4c-4a2a-90e4-d5953a08de74. dead. December 17, 2017. Jackson, Curtis. AtlantaFalcons.com. May 14, 2017.
- Web site: 2017 Atlanta Falcons Roster Cuts Tracker: Deadline To 53 Is 4 P.M. ET On Saturday. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230165513/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/blog/article-1/2017-Atlanta-Falcons-roster-cuts-tracker-Deadline-to-53-is-4-pm-ET-on-Saturday/98e7c2c6-e5e5-414f-bf3a-69e3863e701a. dead. December 30, 2017. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. September 2, 2017.
- Web site: Falcons Announce 10 Players Added To Their Practice Squad. https://web.archive.org/web/20171106195415/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/article-1/Falcons-announce-10-players-added-to-their-2017-practice-squad/7cd651fc-de92-4080-ba32-64490c207caa. dead. November 6, 2017. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. September 4, 2017.
- Web site: Falcons sign quarterback Trevor Knight to practice squad, release DL Taniela Tupou. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. September 6, 2017. 2018-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170908181354/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/article-1/Falcons-sign-quarterback-Trevor-Knight-to-practice-squad-release-DL-Taniela-Tupou/0d9c5548-a205-4853-98cd-638b7a17d723. 2017-09-08. dead.
- Web site: Falcons Sign Defensive Lineman Taniela Tupou to Practice Squad. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. September 19, 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170920092944/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/blog/article-1/Falcons-sign-defensive-lineman-Taniela-Tupou-to-practice-squad-/a3ae9a3e-5248-48f5-a194-e5d0e4632951. September 20, 2017.
- Web site: Falcons Sign Defensive Lineman Taniela Tupou. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. October 10, 2017.
- Web site: Falcons sign defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin waive defensive lineman Taniela Tupou. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. October 19, 2017. 2018-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20171020001254/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/transactions/article-1/Falcons-sign-defensive-tackle-Ahtyba-Rubin-waive-defensive-lineman-Taniela-Tupou-/5b3134b3-dfc0-4c65-8f89-be7b4f9a2694. 2017-10-20. dead.
- Web site: Falcons sign linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, waive defensive lineman Joe Vellano. https://web.archive.org/web/20180131071555/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/transactions/article-1/Falcons-sign-linebacker-Sean-Weatherspoon-waive-defensive-lineman-Joe-Vellano/f68359f7-eb08-4a49-9582-9ec1d4383679. dead. January 31, 2018. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. October 24, 2017.
- Web site: Falcons announce signing of nine players to reserve future contracts. https://web.archive.org/web/20180202035020/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/transactions/article-1/Falcons-announce-signing-of-nine-players-to-reserve-future-contracts/36f74c57-4eff-4eef-865d-ac07dd57a8b7. dead. February 2, 2018. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. January 15, 2018.
- Web site: Falcons waive defensive lineman Taniela Tupou. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. April 11, 2018. April 11, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180415155409/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/transactions/article-1/Falcons-waive-defensive-lineman-Taniela-Tupou/54d344ef-afa1-4b67-9ead-006b83e63d88. April 15, 2018. dead.
- Web site: Injuries Lead Cardinals To Sign Pair Of Defensive Tackles. Urban, Darren. AZCardinals.com. August 22, 2018.
- Web site: Cardinals Make Cuts To Reach 53-Man Roster. Urban, Darren. AZCardinals.com. September 1, 2018.
- Web site: Goldberg. Jeff. 'It's Go time': Roster in place, Fleet excited for season debut. Alliance of American Football. January 30, 2019. February 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041613/https://aaf.com/its-go-time-roster-in-place-fleet-excited-for-season-debut. February 2, 2019. dead.
- Web site: Solares. Diego. Taking a Look at San Diego Fleet's Final 52-man Roster. East Village Times. January 31, 2019. February 1, 2019. February 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042432/https://eastvillagetimes.com/2019/01/taking-a-look-at-san-diego-fleets-final-52-man-roster/2/. dead.
- Web site: Tani Tupou .
- Web site: Rothstein . Michael . Wickersham . Seth . June 13, 2019 . Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football . January 9, 2024 . ESPN.com.
- Web site: Bender. Bill. XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league. Sporting News. October 21, 2019. October 23, 2019.
- News: Talbot, Damond . A Full List of XFL Roster Cuts, Who was released today? . NFLDraftDiamonds.com . January 22, 2020 . January 25, 2020.
- Web site: XFL Injured Reserve . XFL.com . February 6, 2020.
- Web site: XFL Transactions . XFL.com . March 13, 2020.
- News: Condotta, Bob . XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue . SeattleTimes.com . April 10, 2020 . July 17, 2020.
- News: Nagashima, Matthew . The Spring League 2020: Jousters Depth Chart Projection . XFLNewsHub.com . October 27, 2020 . November 3, 2020.
- Web site: 2022-11-18 . Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed . 2022-12-30 . ESPN.com . en.
- Web site: 2024 UFL Team Rosters . TheUFL.com . January 23, 2024.
- Web site: With UW's Taniela Tupou, Seawolves ready for 5th pro rugby season . 2 February 2022 .