Blessman Ta'ala (born March 11, 1999) is an American Samoan professional

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

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(CFL). He played

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Early life

Ta'ala played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Fagaʻitua High School in

Fagaʻitua, American Samoa Fagaitua is a village in the east of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. It is located on the central coast of Fagaitua Bay. It is in Sua County, a county also known as ("the house of the five in the east"). Fagaitua is located at a shallow bay on ...

. He was named to the 2016 U.S. Army National Combine first team as a defensive lineman. He was rated the No. 1 overall recruit from American Samoa in the class of 2018 by

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. Ta'ala also played one season of

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in high school.

College career

Ta'ala played

from 2018 to 2022 as a defensive lineman. He started 14 games in 2018, recording 32 tackles and a blocked field goal. He played in 15 games, starting 11, in 2019, totaling 19 tackles, one sack and one blocked kick, earning honorable mention all-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

honors. Ta'ala started nine games in the

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shortened 2020 season, recording 21 tackles and garnering honorable mention All-Mountain West recognition for the second consecutive year. He played in 13 games, starting four, in 2021, recording 30 tackles and one sack. He started 13 games in 2022, totaling 40 tackles and two sacks while also being one of four

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

s. Ta'ala earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors for the third consecutive year. He also played in a school-record 64 straight games during his five-season career.

Professional career

Ta'ala was selected by the

of the

(CFL) with the first overall pick in the 2023 CFL Global Draft. He signed with the team on May 2, 2023. He was placed on

injured reserve 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 ...

on July 22, 2023, and activated from injured reserve on September 7, 2023. Overall, Ta'ala dressed in 12 games, starting three, for the Redblacks in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, recording six tackles on defense, one

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackle, two sacks and one forced fumble.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ta'ala, Blessman Living people 1999 births Ottawa Redblacks players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Canadian football defensive linemen American football defensive linemen Players of American football from American Samoa Players of Canadian football from American Samoa People from Eastern District, American Samoa Pacific Islander American players of American football