Nicky Sualua (born April 16, 1975) is a former American football

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. 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 Ohio State University.

Early years

Sualua didn't start playing

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 ...

until his freshman year at Santiago High School, where he was a guard 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 ...

. The next year, he transferred to Mater Dei High School, where he played as a

and defensive end. As a sophomore, he helped his team compile a 13-1 record and win the state title. As a senior, he had 85 carries for 562 yards (6.6 avg.) and 9 touchdowns, despite missing five games with a high ankle sprain he suffered in the opening game. He was voted the MVP of the South Coast League and scored 6 touchdowns in the opening round of the playoffs. He also lettered in wrestling and weightlifting, winning the state title in 1991.

College career

Sualua accepted a football scholarship from Ohio State University. After being redshirted as a freshman, he started the last 8 games of his sophomore year at

, blocking for Eddie George. He tallied 18 carries for 106 yards and 7 receptions for 70 yards. He posted career-highs with 6 carries for 44 yards against the University of Alabama in the

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

. He started the final 10 games of his junior season, blocking for George on his way to winning the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

in 1995. He registered 18 carries for 106 rushing yards (5.9 avg.), 17 receptions for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had career-highs with 5 receptions for 57 yards against the University of Michigan. He declared as an early entrant to the NFL Draft, after being ruled academically ineligible to play in his senior season (1996).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Sualua was selected in the fourth round (129th overall) of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 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 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

by the Dallas Cowboys, to develop as the eventual successor to Pro Bowl

Daryl Johnston. As a rookie, he was declared inactive in the first 6 games, until Johnston suffered a season ending neck injury against the Washington Redskins in the sixth contest of the season. Although he was active, he remained a backup behind

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

until the season finale against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. On May 6,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, former Pro Bowl

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Mark Tuinei was found unconscious in his car after spending the previous evening with Sualua. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital in the Dallas suburb of Plano, with the autopsy revealing that he died of a combination of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

and a form of the drug

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

. His death was ruled an accidental overdose and Sualua was never charged or suspended for the events surrounding Tuinei's death. He was waived on June 15,

, with the team claiming it was for football reasons. In his first two years he was mainly a backup and played on the special teams units.

Cincinnati Bengals

On June 25,

, Sualua was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He was released with an injury settlement on September 2.

Personal life

His cousin Troy Polamalu was an All-Pro

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

References

External links

Ohio State's Sualua Is a Reluctant Fullback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sualua, Nicky 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California Players of American football from California American football fullbacks Ohio State Buckeyes football players Dallas Cowboys players American sportspeople of Samoan descent