Hau'oli Kikaha (born July 24, 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 with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the second round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Early years

Kikaha attended Kahuku High & Intermediate School in Kahuku, Hawaii. He is from Hau'ula, Hawaii. He played defensive end and

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 ...

. As a senior in 2009, he was named ''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

's defensive player of the year. Kikaha was rated as a three-star recruit by

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. In January 2010, he committed to the

to play

College career

Kikaha played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2010, making seven starts. He finished the season with 49 tackles and three sacks. He started the first four games of his sophomore season in 2011, before tearing his ACL causing him to miss the rest of the season. Prior to 2012, Kikaha torn his ACL for a second time, causing him again to miss the season. Kikaha returned in 2013 and started every game for the Huskies. He finished the season with 13 sacks and 70 tackles. As a senior in 2014, Kikaha broke

Daniel Te’o-Nesheim Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (né Nesheim; June 12, 1987 – October 29, 2017) was a Samoan American football outside linebacker. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washingto ...

school career sack record of 30. In 2014 as a result of being named a first-team All-American by the AP,

FWAA The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

, AFCA, the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

and

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, Kikaha became the sixth

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

in school history.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Kikaha was drafted in the second round of the

, 44th overall. After having a strong training camp and pre-season, he began the season a starting outside

for the Saints. He recorded his first career sack in Week 2 when the Saints played the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. Kikaha sat out Week 9 with an ankle injury and then only played 8 snaps in Week 10. After a Week 11 bye, he came back healthy, recording three tackles in Week 12. He finished his rookie season with 52 tackles, 4.0 sacks, and four forced fumbles. Kikaha tore his ACL on June 9, 2016, and was ruled out for the 2016 season. He played in 12 games in 2017, recording 10 tackles and four sacks. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Kikaha was waived by the Saints.

Dallas Renegades

On October 15, 2019, he was selected in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

to join the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

. He retired from football three weeks into the XFL season on February 25, 2020.

Personal life

Kikaha was known as Hau'oli Jamora before changing his name in 2013. He is of Native Hawaiian descent.

References

External links

Washington Huskies bioProfile on NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikaha, Hauoli 1992 births Living people Native Hawaiian people People from Laie Players of American football from Hawaii American sportspeople of Samoan descent American football linebackers American football defensive ends Washington Huskies football players All-American college football players New Orleans Saints players Dallas Renegades players