Alfred Sione Pupunu (born October 16, 1969) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

who played nine seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

from 1992 to 2000.

High school career

Pupunu attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at South High School in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

College career

Pupunu played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

, where he went on to earn all-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

and

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honors and has been inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. Pupunu earned Walter Camp All-American honors after leading the nation (NCAA Division I-AA, now Football Championship Subdivision) in receptions, with 93, in 1991. The 93 receptions are the second-most ever in a single season by a tight end. Pupunu was also an All-Conference performer at Dixie State College of Utah.

Professional career

Playing career

Pupunu played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

(1992–1997, 1999), the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

(1997), the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

(1998) and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

(2000). Pupunu made a championship appearance with the Chargers in

Super Bowl XXIX Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

in the 1994 season, and helped them get there by scoring a touchdown in the AFC title game. Though Pupunu only scored five career touchdowns (three regular season, two postseason), he performed a unique celebration after each, in which he mimicked twisting off the top of a coconut and drinking the juice, a very popular celebration among San Diego fans. Pupunu finished his career with 102 receptions for 1,000 yards and three touchdowns in 103 games.

Coaching career

Pupunu was a volunteer assistant at the University of Utah Utes Football Team for three years (2005–2007). In 2008, Pupunu was invited to coach the running backs and tight ends at the

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

(

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

, UT) Thunderbirds Football Team by Head Coach

Ed Lamb Claude Edward Lamb III (born March 4, 1974) is an American college football coach and former player. In December 2022, he was named as the head football coach at the University of Northern Colorado. Lamb served as the head football coach at South ...

. On February 24, 2010, Pupunu was named assistant coach at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

. Pupunu then starting coaching the tight ends at

beginning in the 2017 season. In January 2019, he joined the University of Colorado staff as the tight end coach, hired by new CU head coach Mel Tucker.

Personal life

Pupunu was born in Tonga, but moved to Utah with his parents as a baby. In June 2014 Pupunu was arrested and charged with battery after an incident at his home. The charge was later dropped.

Notes and references

External links

Southern Utah Coach BioWeber State Coach Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pupunu, Alfred 1969 births Tongan emigrants to the United States American football tight ends Detroit Lions players Utah Tech Trailblazers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Living people New York Giants players San Diego Chargers players Tongan players of American football Weber State Wildcats football players