Johan Asiata (born December 19, 1985) is a

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

offensive lineman 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 numbe ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in 2009. 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 ...

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

Early years and college career

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Asiata later lived in

Kalihi, Hawaii Kalihi is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States. Split by the Likelike Highway (Route 63), it is flanked by downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua Moanalua is a valley, a stream, an ahu ...

and attended the National Guard Youth Challenge Academy, a

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

Kapolei Kapolei () is a planned community in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi, United States, on the island of Oʻahu. It is colloquially known as the "second city" of Oʻahu, in relation to Honolulu. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau ...

. Asiata then moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to attend

Yuba College Yuba College () is a public community college in Marysville, Yuba County, California. It is part of the Yuba Community College District. The college district has an extension campus in Yuba City, California. Yuba College is one of two colleges ...

. After playing junior college football at Yuba in 2004 and 2005, Asiata transferred to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, where he played at offensive line for

UNLV Rebels football The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) conferenc ...

from 2007 to 2008. During his senior year at UNLV, he earned honorable Mention All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

honors and started all 12 games for UNLV and did not allow a sack.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Asiata signed with the

on April 27, 2009. and spent most of 2009 on the practice squad but was in consideration to start at left guard in 2010. On September 2, 2011, he was waived by Chicago.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On April 24, 2012, Asiata was signed by 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 ...

BC Lions

Along with Levi Horn and Andre Ramsey, Asiata was signed by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

on March 26, 2013.

Los Angeles Kiss

On October 4, 2013, Asiata was assigned to 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 ...

References

External links

UNLV Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asiata, Johan 1985 births Living people New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Sportspeople from Christchurch Players of American football from Hawaii American sportspeople of Samoan descent American football offensive guards UNLV Rebels football players Chicago Bears players New Zealand players of American football Saskatchewan Roughriders players BC Lions players Los Angeles Kiss players New Zealand emigrants to the United States Junior college football players in the United States