Timote "Junior" Maile Tafuna is an American football defensive tackle for the Utah Utes.
| Utah Utes – No. 58 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Class | Senior |
| Major | Economics |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 308 lb (140 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| Bowl games | |
| High school | Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Early life and high school
editTafuna attended high school at Bingham. Coming out of high school, Tafuna was rated as a three star recruit, where he committed to play college football for the Utah Utes.[1][2]
College career
editIn Tafuna's first collegiate season in 2020, he did not appear in any games for the Utes.[3] In week eleven of the 2021 season, Tafuna notched a career high nine tackles in a win over Arizona.[4] During the 2021 season, Tafuna had a breakout season totaling 33 tackles with five and a half being for a loss, four and a half sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection.[5] For his performance on the 2021 season, Tafuna was named the PAC-12 defensive freshman of the year and was named second team all PAC-12.[6][7] In the 2022 season, Tafuna started in all 14 games, notching 27 tackles with three and a half being for a loss, a sack, an interception, and a pass deflection, while once again being named second team all PAC-12.[8] In week ten of the 2023 season, Tafuna recorded his first career forced fumble, which he also recovered against Oregon.[9] In the 2023 season, Tafuna tallied 17 tackles with three being for a loss, a sack and a half, two pass deflections, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.[10]
References
edit- ^ McDonald, Ryan (November 6, 2018). "Bingham Miners linebacker Junior Tafuna commits to Utah Utes". Deseret News. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Markham, Alex (November 5, 2018). "BREAKING: Utes Local Star, Tafuna". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Call, Jeff (May 7, 2022). "He's the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. What's next for Junior Tafuna?". Deseret News. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Bagley, Cole (February 19, 2022). "Utes on the rise: Defensive Tackle Junior Tafuna". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Call, Jeff (August 12, 2022). "Utah's Junior Tafuna eager to improve after being named Pac-12's top freshman defender last year". Deseret News. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Bagley, Cole (August 12, 2022). "Junior Tafuna is maintaining an 'underdog' mentality as he begins his 2022 campaign for Mayor of Sack Lake City". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Dann, Jared (April 20, 2022). "Pac-12 Defensive Freshman Player of the Year Junior Tafuna eyes a repeat Pac-12 Championship and week one win against Florida". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "60 in 60: #13 Utah's Junior Tafuna (Defensive Tackle)". KSL Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Holt, Chandler. "Junior Tafuna Forces Turnover By Taking Ball From Oregon RB Bucky Irving". KSL Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "Junior Tafuna 2023 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 11, 2024.