Matangi To-I-Moana Tonga (born January 6, 1988) 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 ...

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 ...

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 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 Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

and attended

Aragon High School Aragon High School is a public co-educational high school in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). It is located in San Mateo County, a large suburb just outside San Francisco. The school is accre ...

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

. He has been a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) ...

, Spokane Shock and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

Early years

Tonga 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 ...

for the Aragon High School Dons. He played

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 ...

, linebacker and

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 ...

for the Dons. He earned First-team All-League, All-State, All-Metro, All-County and All-Central Coast honors in both his junior and senior years. He was team MVP his senior season. Tonga was also named San Mateo Daily Journal, San Mateo Daily News and San Mateo County Times Player of the Year. He helped the Dons to a 9–2 record as a senior while recording 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. He also rushed for 837 yards and 20 touchdowns on 105 carries.

College career

Tonga first played

in 2006 for the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

. He appeared in 13 games for the team during the season, recording 13 tackles, one sack and one interception. He was suspended indefinitely from the Cougars in February 2007 after being charged with burglary. Tonga afterwards attended

Utah Valley State College Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July 2008. History ...

. He played for the

San Mateo Bulldogs College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 153 ...

of College of San Mateo during the 2009 season. He helped the Bulldogs finish with a 10–2 record and advanced to the state championship game. Tonga was an

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 ...

First-team selection. He transferred to play for the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

in 2010.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Tonga signed by the

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 going undrafted in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He was released by the Cowboys after failing a physical.

Iowa Barnstormers

Tonga was assigned to the

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) on April 21, 2012. He recorded nine tackles and one sack in nine games his rookie year in 2012. He compiled 25 tackles and 3.5 sacks in fifteen games in 2013. Tonga collected 19 tackles and two sacks in eighteen games in 2014. The Barnstormers left the AFL and became members of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

on August 27, 2014.

Spokane Shock

Tonga was assigned to the Spokane Shock of the AFL on October 2, 2014.

Orlando Predators

Tonga was traded to the

for the third overall claim order position on April 28, 2015. He was placed on recallable reassignment on May 27, 2015.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonga, Matangi Living people 1988 births American football linebackers BYU Cougars football players Utah Valley University alumni San Mateo Bulldogs football players Houston Cougars football players Dallas Cowboys players Iowa Barnstormers players Spokane Shock players Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Orlando Predators players Players of American football from California People from Redwood City, California American people of Tongan descent