Charles Tuaau

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Charles Tuaau
refer to caption
Tuaau playing for A&M–Commerce in 2014
No. 61 Miami Dolphins
Position: Nose tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1992-01-04) January 4, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth: Wahiawa, Hawaii
Height: Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Weight: Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Career information
High school: Leilehua (HI) High School
College: Pasadena City College
Riverside City College
Texas A&M–Commerce
Undrafted: 2015
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Offseason
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Charles Tuaau (/ˈtuːaʊ/ TOO-ow,[2] born January 4, 1992) is an American football nose tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft before being signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. The native of Hawaii played college football at two junior colleges in California, Pasadena City College and Riverside City College, before transferring to Texas A&M University–Commerce, where he earned All-American honors.

Playing career

High school

Tuaau attended and played football at Leilehua High School in his native Wahiawa, Hawaii.[3][4] He signed a letter of intent with the University of Hawaii after completing high school, but instead enrolled at Pasadena City College (PCC), a California junior college, in 2011.[5]

College

In 2011,[5] Tuaau played football for PCC, and during his freshman season he recorded 45 tackles, including 17 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, and led the team with 7 quarterback hurries.[3] He was named to the SCFA All-National Southern Conference First Team.[3]

After his 2011 season at PCC, he transferred to Riverside City College for his sophomore season in 2012.[3][5] He accumulated 48 tackles and 9 sacks during the 2012 season.[6]

In February 2013, Tuaau signed with Oregon State University, although he failed to meet its academic requirements and ultimately transferred to Texas A&M University–Commerce instead.[5] He immediately made a significant impact during his first season at A&M–Commerce in 2013: he tallied 59 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks in his first season, setting school season records for sacks (12.5) and tackles for loss (25), as well as the record for tackles for loss in a single game (5).[1][7] He also earned Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year honors and was named to the AFCA All-America first team and Daktronics All-America second-team in 2013.[1][7]

Prior to the 2014 season, Tuaau was named a preseason Division II All-American by Beyond Sports Network.[1] He also gained attention from NFL scouts, as College Football 24/7 writer Mike Huguenin praised his "disruptive nature" and opined that his 2013 statistics were "staggering numbers for a nose tackle".[5]

File:14497-Homecoming Football vs McMurray-9670 (15107476683).jpg
Tuaau (97) in action against McMurry in 2014

In his senior season in 2014, Tuaau amassed 27 tackles, including 14 unassisted tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.[8] He was selected as a Cliff Harris Award finalist as one of the nation's most outstanding defensive players at a "small college",[9] and also helped lead A&M–Commerce to the 2014 Lone Star Conference championship.[2]

Tuaau finished his two-year career at A&M–Commerce with 86 tackles, including 45 solo tackles, 34 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks.[4][8] D2Football.com placed him 23rd on its list of the Top 100 NCAA Division II prospects available in the 2015 NFL Draft.[3]

Career statistics at A&M–Commerce

Year
Team
GP
TT
Solo
Ast
TFL
Sack
PDef
INT
FF
FR
BK
TD
2013 Texas A&M–Commerce 12 59 31 28 25 12.5 1 0 1 2 0 0
2014 Texas A&M–Commerce 11 27 14 13 9 4.5 0 0 0 0 2 0
Career Totals 23 86 45 41 34 17 1 0 1 2 2 0

Source:[8]

Kansas City Chiefs

After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Tuaau signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on May 15, 2015.[10] Because his May 2015 graduation ceremony fell on the same weekend that he was due to report to minicamp with the Chiefs, A&M–Commerce organized a special commencement ceremony for him.[11][12] His wife, mother, and grandmother were all present as he became the first person in his family to earn a college degree.[13] On August 24, 2015, the Chiefs experimented with moving him to the offensive line in practice, in what offensive coordinator Doug Pederson viewed as a learning experience for Tuaau. Pederson noted that Tuaau is "big, physical...powerful" and that he "fits that offensive line mode".[14] However, he was cut by Kansas City on August 30, along with ten other players in the team's first round of cuts.[15]

Miami Dolphins

Tuaau signed a reserve/future contract with the Miami Dolphins on January 14, 2016.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Charles_Tuaau&oldid=718471747"