Jaylahn T. Tuimoloau (born May 10, 2003) is an

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 ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

. He was named the 2020 Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year.

Early life and high school

Tuimoloau was born on May 10, 2003, in

Edgewood, Washington Edgewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,327 at the 2020 census. Neighboring towns include Fife to the west, Milton to the northwest, Federal Way to the north, Sumner to the east, and Puyallup to the ...

. He attended

Eastside Catholic School Eastside Catholic School is a private Roman Catholic secondary school located in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle within the Archdiocese of Seattle. It has a faith-based educational program for students in grades 6 through 12. D ...

Sammamish, Washington Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resi ...

, where he was named the 2020 Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year before committing to play

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 ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. He was also offered a basketball scholarship for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

College career

Tuimolau played in every game at Ohio State as a freshman in 2021. He finished the season with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Tuimolau also considered playing basketball for the Buckeyes, but opted to focus on football. Against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in 2022, he had two interceptions, two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown, becoming the first FBS player to accomplish that since 2000.

References

External links

*
Ohio State Buckeyes bio
Living people American football defensive ends Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Pierce County, Washington 2003 births {{defensive-lineman-stub