Charles Tuaau ( , born January 4, 1992) is a former

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 wi ...

defensive tackle. He played for 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 ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

of 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 ...

(NFL) after he went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft. He also played for the IBM Big Blue of Japan's X-League. The native of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

played college football at two junior colleges in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, Pasadena City College and

Riverside City College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

, before transferring to

Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...

, where he earned

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.

Playing career

High school

Tuaau attended and played football at

Leilehua High School Leilehua High School is a public, co-educational, college preparatory high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education, nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the United Stat ...

in his native

Wahiawa, Hawaii Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise th ...

. He signed a letter of intent with the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

after completing high school, but instead enrolled at Pasadena City College (PCC), a California junior college, in 2011.

College

In 2011, 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. He was named to the SCFA All-National Southern Conference First-team. After his 2011 season at PCC, he transferred to

for his sophomore season in 2012. He accumulated 48 tackles and 9 sacks during the 2012 season. In February 2013, Tuaau signed with

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

, although he failed to meet its academic requirements and ultimately transferred to

instead. 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). He also earned

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in T ...

Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year honors and was named to the AFCA All-America first-team and

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

All-America second-team in 2013. Prior to the 2014 season, Tuaau was named a preseason Division II All-American by Beyond Sports Network. 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". 14497-Homecoming Football vs McMurray-9670 (15107476683)

14497-Homecoming Football vs McMurray-9670 (15107476683)

In his senior season in 2014, Tuaau amassed 27 tackles, including 14 unassisted tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. He was selected as a Cliff Harris Award finalist as one of the nation's most outstanding defensive players at a "small college", and also helped lead A&M–Commerce to the 2014 Lone Star Conference championship. Tuaau finished his two-year career at A&M–Commerce with 86 tackles, including 45 solo tackles, 34 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks. D2Football.com placed him 23rd on its list of the Top 100 NCAA Division II prospects available in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Career statistics at A&M–Commerce

''Source:''

Kansas City Chiefs

After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Tuaau signed with the

on May 15, 2015. 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. His wife, mother, and grandmother were all present as he became the first person in his family to earn a college degree. On August 24, 2015, the Chiefs experimented with moving him to the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

in practice, in what offensive coordinator

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career ...

viewed as a learning experience for Tuaau. Pederson noted that Tuaau is "big, physical...powerful" and that he "fits that offensive line mode". However, he was cut by Kansas City on August 30, along with ten other players in the team's first round of cuts.

Miami Dolphins

Tuaau signed a reserve/future contract with the

on January 14, 2016. On June 16, 2016, Tuaau was cut by Miami.

IBM Big Blue

In August 2017, Tuaau signed a contract to play for IBM Big Blue of the X-League in Japan.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Tuaau signed with the St. Louis BattleHawks of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

during mini-camp in December 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuaau, Charles 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Hawaii American people of Polynesian descent American football defensive tackles Pasadena City Lancers football players Riverside City Tigers football players Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football players Kansas City Chiefs players Miami Dolphins players St. Louis BattleHawks players American expatriate sportspeople in Japan American expatriate players of American football