Michael Fuimaono Ulufale (born February 1, 1972) 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 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 ...

in 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) for 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 ...

. 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 ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

and was drafted in the third round of the

1996 NFL Draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

Early years

Ulufale attended

James Campbell High School James Campbell High School, often simply Campbell High School or JCHS, is a public coeducational high school located at 91-980 North Road in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, United States.2000 map: - Compare the maps to the address of the school. It is away f ...

, where he lettered in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. As a senior, he was named a first-team West All-Star as a

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 ...

and

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 ...

. In

he was named second-team West All-Star. Because of poor grades, he attended

San Bernardino Valley College San Bernardino Valley College is a public community college in San Bernardino, California. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The college has an enrollment of 17,044 students and covers . Valley College is also a ...

where he was a two-way player (

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 ...

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 sophomore, he earned first-team All-American honors on defense and second-team on offense. He was also named the

Foothill Conference The Foothill Conference was a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. Several community colleges were members until it was formally disbanded in Spring, 2016. History The Foothill C ...

Defensive MVP. He finished his 2 seasons with 131 tackles and 26 sacks. Ulufale transferred to

but was medical redshirted in 1993, because of a shoulder injury. He became a starter at right defensive tackle as a junior and was third on the team in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (11). As a senior, he was suspended for 4 games in the middle of the season for breaking the school's honor code. He eventually played in six games, starting three at left defensive end, while registering 24 tackles (3 for loss).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Ulufale was selected by the

in the third round of the

. He suffered torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a practice, that placed him on the

injured reserve list 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 November 21,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. The next year, he suffered from a strained neck injury sustained during mini-camp practices. He was waived before the season started, so he filed a grievance for being released with an existing injury (strained neck).

San Jose SaberCats (AFL)

Ulufale signed with the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and earned

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

All-Rookie honors when he registered four sacks, two interceptions, 11 passes batted down and six tackles in ten games. The next year, he finished with 3 sacks and 11 tackles in eight games, while being named second-team All-

. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, he helped the team win the ArenaBowl XVI championship.

Los Angeles Avengers (AFL)

On October 30,

, he signed as 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 ...

with the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

and finished the season with 15 tackles, 11 passes batted down and tied for the team lead with 3 sacks.

Philadelphia Soul (AFL)

On February 24,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

traded Jeriod Johnson to the

in exchange for Ulufale.

Personal life

In January 2004, his brothers Tali and Semeri died in a span of 24 hours of natural causes. Ulufale is currently the

head coach for Saint Francis School.

References

External links

BYU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulufale, Mike 1972 births Living people Players of American football from Honolulu American sportspeople of Samoan descent American football defensive tackles BYU Cougars football players Dallas Cowboys players San Jose SaberCats players Los Angeles Avengers players High school football coaches in Hawaii San Bernardino Valley College alumni