Xavier Filoitumua Su'a-Filo (born January 1, 1991) 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 wi ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Early years

A native of

Pleasant Grove, Utah Pleasant Grove, originally named Battle Creek, is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States known as "Utah's City of Trees". It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 37,726 at the 2020 Census. Hist ...

, Su'a-Filo attended Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, where he was a three-year starter and a Parade Magazine All-American offensive lineman. He contributed to his school winning state championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008, while setting a state record for most consecutive wins (36). He was teammates with future NFL players

Stephen Paea Stephen Paea ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a New Zealand–born former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for Oregon State University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears ...

and Bronson Kaufusi. As a senior, he was named the state of Utah 4A Offensive Player of the Year. He was regarded as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the number seven offensive tackle in his class 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 ...

''.

College career

Su'a-Filo accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman, he started all 13 games at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

. He became the first true freshman to start a season-opener on the offensive side of the ball for UCLA and also had the most starts by a true freshman at any non-kicking position in school history. In 2010, he left school to serve a two-year Mormon mission in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt (region of Alabama), Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' co ...

. He rode a special ordered bike capable for his 300-pound frame during his mission work from January 2010 to December 2011. In 2012, he returned and started all 14 games at left guard, while also seeing some action at

. He helped

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Johnathan Franklin Johnathan A. Franklin (born October 23, 1989) is a former American football player who was a running back for one season with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Packers in the fourth round of the ...

set a school record for most single-season rushing yards. As a junior, he started 7 games at left guard and 6 at left

. On January 5, 2014, he decided to forgo his senior year at UCLA and declared for the 2014 NFL Draft. During his college career he started 19 games at

and 21 at left guard.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Su'a-Filo was selected by the Houston Texans with the first pick in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft, to become the highest selected UCLA Bruins offensive lineman since

Jonathan Ogden Jonathan Phillip Ogden (born July 31, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle and spent his entire career with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

in 1996. As a rookie, he missed all of the organized team activities because of his school's quarter system and played different positions along the offensive line during the preseason. He appeared in 13 games as a backup at left guard after not been able to pass Ben Jones on the depth chart. He started at

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

in place of an injured Brandon Brooks in the sixth game against the Indianapolis Colts. In 2015, with the retirement of

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500. Early life and care ...

, Jones was moved to

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and Su'a-Filo competed for the left guard position. He played in 11 games, starting the final 9 including the playoffs at left guard. He struggled in pass protection during the season. In 2016, he appeared in 16 games with 15 starts. In 2017, the Texans used seven different offensive line starting combinations throughout the season. Only Su'a-Filo and

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

Breno Giacomini started every game at their respective positions. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Tennessee Titans

On March 27, 2018, Su'a-Filo signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, reuniting with

Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel (; born August 14, 1975) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned con ...

who was both the

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

and defensive coordinator with the Texans. He was brought in to compete with starter Quinton Spain at left guard. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 11, 2018, Su'a-Filo was signed by 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 divi ...

to replace backup guard Kadeem Edwards and provide depth in place of an injured Parker Ehinger. He replaced injured rookie Connor Williams, as the starter at left guard in the ninth game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. His performance helped to stabilize the offensive line. In 2019, he was a backup until Williams tore his right knee ACL in the Week 13 game against the Buffalo Bills. He started four games at left guard before suffering a high ankle sprain and a fractured fibula in the Week 16 game against the

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 24.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 19, 2020, Su'a-Filo signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was placed on the active/ physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on August 3, 2020, and activated from the list five days later. He was named the starting right guard in Week 1, but suffered an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve on September 15, 2020. He was activated on December 2, 2020. He appeared in six games with five starts at left guard. Su'a-Filo entered the 2021 season as the Bengals starting right guard. He suffered a knee injury in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve on October 9, 2021. He was activated on January 17, 2022, then released the next day and re-signed to the practice squad. His contract expired when the teams season ended on February 13, 2022.

Personal life

Su'a-Filo is fluent in Spanish, learning the language on his two-year church mission trips to Alabama and Florida. Su'a-Filo has three siblings: Hayley, Natasha, and Wilson. He majored in history with a minor in Spanish at UCLA.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Su'a-filo, Xavier 1991 births Living people People from Pleasant Grove, Utah Sportspeople from Provo, Utah Players of American football from Utah American sportspeople of Samoan descent American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players Houston Texans players Tennessee Titans players Dallas Cowboys players 21st-century Mormon missionaries Cincinnati Bengals players