David Fa'otusia Veikune (born December 12, 1985) 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 with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the second round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. He 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 ...

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 stat ...

. He has also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the NFL, the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL), and the Los Angeles Kiss of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL).

Early life

Veikune 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 Campbell High School in 'Ewa Beach, Hawai'i. As a senior, he posted 92 tackles, 26 tfl's and 16.5 sacks.Top games: in a win over Waianae his senior year, he had 17 total stops (six solo), three tackles for loss, seven sacks, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble and a blocked PAT; against Leilehua that season he finished with 21 tackles (six solo), with one forced fumble and one recovered fumble. He was named 1st team by the Star Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser. An interesting accolade Veikune earned his junior and senior year was the Larry Prince All-Katoosh Team, which is a list of the state’s 11 hardest hitters.

College career

Colorado

He started his career at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

where he was redshirted in 2004.

Fresno City College

He transferred to

Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester ...

where he spent a year. He earned All-Northern California honorable mention.

Hawaii

Later he transferred to the

University of Hawaii at Manoa 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, t ...

where he saw action as a special teamer and as backup in 2006. In 2007, Veikune was named a 1st team ALL-WAC Selection even though he never started a game. He led the WAC in sacks with seven (pre-bowl). In 2008, Veikune earned a 2nd team ALL-WAC Selection after he was the team's third leading tackler with 73 and was among the WAC's leaders with 16.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He played

Defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

and

Defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

at Hawaii. He also had 11 quarterback hurries and forced four fumbles. He was invited to play in the

2009 Senior Bowl The 2009 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2008 college football season, and prospects for the 2009 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). It was the 60th edition of the Se ...

to play for the South Team.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Veikune was drafted by the

in the second round (52nd overall) of the

. He was taken one pick before Pro Bowler

LeSean McCoy LeSean Kamel McCoy (born July 12, 1988), nicknamed "Shady", is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ...

, although the Browns were already starting

Jamal Lewis Jamal Lewis (born August 26, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Tennessee and was s ...

at tailback. The pick was acquired from the

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

in an earlier trade that allowed the Jets to draft

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...

. Veikune appeared in 10 games on kick return as a rookie. He tore his mcl on the last practice of the year and was placed on season-ending

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on January 2, 2010. Veikune was waived by the Browns on September 7, 2010.

Denver Broncos

On November 17, 2010, Veikune signed with the Denver Broncos and was a top special team player for the remaining 2010 season. He was waived the following season on August 29, 2011.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On November 3, 2011, it was announced that Veikune had signed with the

. On May 31, 2013, Veikune was released by the Riders before training camp started because he had a high ankle sprain that wouldn't heal until the end of the season.

Los Angeles Kiss

On October 1, 2013, Veikune was assigned to the expansion Los Angeles Kiss of the

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bioCleveland Browns bioHawaii Warriors bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veikiune, David 1985 births Living people American people of Tongan descent Players of American football from Anchorage, Alaska Players of American football from Honolulu American football defensive ends American football linebackers Colorado Buffaloes football players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Fresno City Rams football players Los Angeles Kiss players Players of Canadian football from Alaska