Uani "Devin" Unga (born December 28, 1987) 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 ...

coach at

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

, and a former

himself. 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 ...

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

in 2009 and 2010 before transferring to

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

in 2012 and led the nation in tackles his final season in 2013. He served a two-year

Mormon mission Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

to Guatemala City Central after high school. He was undrafted in 2014, and played his entire professional career with 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. ...

Professional career

New York Giants

Unga was not drafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

after suffering a serious knee injury on the final play in his college career. Unga was signed by the

on December 23, 2014, as a member of the practice squad, up until that point he spent the season rehabbing a knee injury. On September 5, 2015, Unga made the final 53-man roster for the

On September 13, 2015, Unga would get his first career start against 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 ...

where he recorded his first career interception against

Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...

in a 27-26 loss. Unga recorded his second interception in a September 24, 2015, game against the Redskins. On May 10, 2016, Unga was waived/injured by the Giants and was placed on injured reserve. On February 8, 2017, Unga was released by the Giants.

Coaching career

It was announced that Unga will be a Defensive administrative assistant at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

beginning for the 2017 football season. On February 12, 2018 'Unga was added as a full-time coach at

to coach the outside linebackers, ending his playing career. On August 25, 2019, Unga joined

Southern Utah Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

coaching staff as their

Linebackers 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 ...

coach.

Personal life

His older brothers, Paul and J.J. Unga, were also football players. Paul, a

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 ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and J.J. an

offensive guard 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 ...

at Midwestern State. He also has a twin brother Feti who played

. His younger brother Metuisela played

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 ...

for the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and his other younger brother Chris played

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

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. He is the cousin of former NFL running backs

Harvey Unga William Harvey Unga (born January 18, 1987) is a former American football fullback and the current running backs coach for the Brigham Young University football team. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears with a seventh round pick in the 2010 Supp ...

Reno Mahe Sateki Reno Mahe Jr. (born June 3, 1980) is a former American football running back who played five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Mahe played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU), and wa ...

, and

Naufahu Tahi Naufahu Anitoni Tahi (born October 30, 1981) is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at BYU. Tahi has also been a member of the Minnesota Vikin ...

References

External links

Southern Utah University bioBYU Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unga, Uani 1987 births Living people Oregon State Beavers football players Players of American football from Pomona, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California American football linebackers American people of Tongan descent American Latter Day Saints 21st-century Mormon missionaries BYU Cougars football players New York Giants players