Sione Fua ( ; born June 15, 1988) 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 wi ...

nose 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 l ...

. He was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, after playing three seasons at Stanford University. Fua is of Tongan descent.

High school career

A native of the San Fernando Valley, Fua attended

Crespi Carmelite High School Crespi Carmelite High School, shortly known as Crespi, is a private Catholic all-male four-year college preparatory high school located in Encino District, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The ...

Encino, California Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda ...

. He did not play football until high school, but quickly became the varsity's best two-way lineman. As junior in 2004, Fua did not give up a quarterback sack and helped Crespi win the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

Division X championship. As a senior, Fua had over 60 tackles and eight sacks, while Crespi repeated as division champs, defeating

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...

24–14. Regarded as a three-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', he was listed as the No. 47 defensive tackle prospect in the class of 2006. He chose Stanford over offers from

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Besides football, Fua was also an accomplished wrestler. Competing in the heavyweight division, where he constantly had to keep his weight below the maximum, Fua won a

CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...

State Wrestling Championship as a senior in 2006. He beat fellow Polynesian Romney Fuga of Huntington Beach Edison High School, who himself became a nose tackle at

. Fua became the only wrestler from the San Fernando Valley to win a state title.

College career

Fua enrolled in Stanford in 2006. In his

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

year, Fua played in all 12 games and finished with 16 tackles, including seven solo stops. He then missed the 2007 season while on a

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, but retained a year of eligibility. Fua returned for the 2008 season and played in all 12 games with seven starts. He recorded 17 total tackles, including 11 solo. As a junior, Fua started the last 11 games of the season at defensive tackle and finished with 24 tackles, including 3.0 for loss, and 1.5 quarterback sacks. He earned an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection.

Professional career

2011 NFL Draft

Projected to be a fourth-round selection, Fua was listed as the No. 15 defensive tackle in the 2011 NFL Draft by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

''. The scouting report acknowledged he "displayed consistent progress" in college and "possesses the skill and potential to break into a starting lineup," but raised concerns about his marginal productivity in college.

Carolina Panthers

Fua was selected with the 97th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the

. After starting in eleven games for the Panthers in 2011, he was placed on the injured reserve list on December 6. Fua was cut on August 31, 2013. He re-signed on September 11, 2013. In the week of November 8, the Panthers announced that they would be switching Fua to the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

position. On November 12, Fua was waived by the Panthers.

Denver Broncos

Fua was signed by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

on November 27, 2013 following an injury that led to starting defensive tackle,

Kevin Vickerson Kevin Darnell Vickerson (born January 8, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State. Vickerson has also been a ...

, to be placed on injured reserve.

Cleveland Browns

Fua was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

on October 14, 2014, following a season-ending ACL injury to defensive end

Armonty Bryant Armonty Charles Bryant (born May 20, 1990) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Division II East Central Tigers of Ad ...

Personal life

Sione Fua is of Tongan descent, the oldest son of George and Helen Fua.Alt URL
/ref> His younger brother, Alani Fua, played as a

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, ...

on the Arizona Cardinals. His father, George Fua, of San Mateo, played tight end for

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member ...

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, ...

, and

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest u ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He went undrafted in the 1991 NFL Draft and briefly played professional football in 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 ...

, with the

Sacramento Attack ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and

Miami Hooters Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

. He now operates a construction company in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles, California, City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named List_of_mino ...

. Since August 2012, Sione Fua is married to Ivy (née Avanessian) of North Hills, who currently is a graduate of University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry and a practicing pediatric dentist. They have one son.

References

External links

ESPN profileCarolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fua, Sione 1988 births Living people 21st-century Mormon missionaries American football defensive tackles American Mormon missionaries American people of Tongan descent Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Latter Day Saints from California People from Encino, Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles Stanford Cardinal football players