Taliese Fuaga (born April 5, 2002) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers, receiving All-American honors in 2023. Fuaga was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
| No. 75 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | April 5, 2002 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 324 lb (147 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Mount Tahoma (Tacoma) | ||||||
| College: | Oregon State (2020–2023) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2024 / round: 1 / pick: 14 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024 | |||||||
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Early life
editFuaga attended Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington.[1] He played offensive and defensive line in high school. He was selected to play in the 2020 Polynesian Bowl.[2] Fuaga committed to Oregon State University to play college football, turning down similar offers from Oregon, USC, Hawaii, and Nevada.[3][4]
College career
editFuaga played in 14 games as a backup his first years at Oregon State in 2020 and 2021. He started all 13 games in 2022 and returned as a starter in 2023, where he was named a first-team All-American.[5][6]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5+3⁄4 in (1.97 m) |
324 lb (147 kg) |
33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.13 s | 1.77 s | 2.98 s | 32.0 in (0.81 m) |
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
Fuaga was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.[9]
References
edit- ^ Manley, Jon (September 20, 2019). "The wins haven't come, but Mount Tahoma lineman Fuaga hasn't wavered in loyalty". The News Tribune. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ Huffman, Brandon (June 25, 2019). "Polynesian Bowl announces Taliese Fuaga as selection". 247Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ Slaughter, Brenden (December 9, 2019). "BeaversEdge - BREAKING: 2020 Tacoma OT Taliese Fuaga commits to Oregon State". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ Milles, Todd (September 3, 2023). "Loyal and humble, Taliese Fuaga leaves Mount Tahoma High School for another rebuilding effort - Oregon State University". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023.
- ^ Daschel, Nick (October 25, 2023). "Will Taliese Fuaga become Oregon State's first NFL 1st-round draft pick as an offensive lineman?". OregonLive.com. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- ^ "Taliese Fuaga, Tanner Miller Earn ESPN All-America Honors". BeaversEdge.com. Rivals.com. December 17, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ "Taliese Fuaga Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Taliese Fuaga College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Charean (April 26, 2024). "Saints draft Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga at 14th overall". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2024.