Mosiula Mea'alofa "Lofa" Tatupu (born November 15, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. Tatupu was selected by Seahawks in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft. After his playing career, he was an assistant linebackers coach with the Seahawks.

Early life

Tatupu was born in San Diego, California and graduated in 2001 from King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, Massachusetts, where he played quarterback and linebacker in his junior and senior year. His high school coach was his father Mosi Tatupu, a fullback and special teamer who played for the New England Patriots. As a quarterback, Lofa Tatupu threw for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 450 yards and five touchdowns. As a linebacker, Tatupu made 100 tackles. The Sun Chronicle named Tatupu a local high school All-Star in 1999 and 2000.

College career

Tatupu spent his freshman year of college at the University of Maine before transferring to the University of Southern California, where he majored in sociology and played for the USC Trojans football team.

Tatupu started 25 games during his two years for the Trojans. He finished his USC career with 202 tackles, nine sacks, seven interceptions, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 18 pass deflections, and one touchdown. Some teams had him rated lower than the second round. Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell, who 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. Upon joining the Seahawks, Tatupu became a teammate of Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck's father Don had been a teammate of Lofa's father Mosi during Mosi's career with the New England Patriots.

Pre-draft measurables

Seattle Seahawks

Tatupu quickly established himself as one of the top defensive players in the league as a rookie in 2005, in which he was named to the Pro Bowl, while leading the NFC Champion Seahawks in tackles, with 104, en route to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. 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 100 yards off of Eagles' quarterback A. J. Feeley.

In Tatupu's first three seasons, he led the Seahawks in tackles. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the first three years of his NFL career: 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2007, Tatupu was voted to the All-Pro team by the AP. In 2008, Tatupu was hampered by nagging injuries which resulted in him playing at a lower level than he has in the past, and as a result cost him a chance to play in four consecutive Pro Bowls.

Tatupu emerged as the Seahawks' leader on defense, making his teammates more attentive to preparation by watching more game tape and calling defensive signals on the field.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 10, 2012, Tatupu signed a two-year, $5.75 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. On July 24, 2012, Tatupu suffered a torn pectoral and would miss the entire 2012 NFL season. The Falcons released him the next day.

NFL statistics

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Years !! Team !! GP !! COMB !! TOTAL !! AST !! SACK !! FF !! FR !! FR YDS !! INT !! IR YDS !! AVG IR !! LNG IR !! TD !! PD

|-

| 2005 || SEA || 16 || 104 || 85 || 19 || 4.0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 55 || 18 || 38 || 1 || 9

|-

| 2006 || SEA || 16 || 123 || 92 || 31 || 1.5 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 19 || 19 || 19 || 0 || 7

|-

| 2007 || SEA || 16 || 109 || 83 || 26 || 1.0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 116 || 29 || 49 || 0 || 9

|-

| 2008 || SEA || 15 || 94 || 69 || 25 || 0.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 16 || 16 || 16 || 0 || 4

|-

| 2009 || SEA || 5 || 32 || 21 || 11 || 1.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2

|-

| 2010 || SEA || 16 || 88 || 58 || 30 || 1.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 26 || 26 || 26 || 1 || 8

|-

| Career || || 84 || 550 || 408 || 142 || 8.5 || 7 || 2 || 0 || 10 || 232 || 23 || 49 || 2 || 39

|}

Coaching career

The Seahawks announced on February 9, 2015, that Tatupu would be joining Pete Carroll and new defensive coordinator Kris Richard's staff as assistant linebacker coach. He resigned from his position two years later.

Personal life

Tatupu is of Samoan descent. He is the son of the late former USC Trojan and New England Patriots fullback Mosi Tatupu, and first cousin of former NFL linebacker Joe Tuipala. In 2019, he founded his own CBD company called ZoneIn CBD.

References

  • Seattle Seahawks – bio – Lofa Tatupu