Sione Sonasi "Bo" Po'uha ( ; born February 3, 1979) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. On December 20, 2022, Po'uha accepted the position of defensive tackles coach at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. He previously served as the defensive line coach at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, for whom he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

. He is an active member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Early life

Pouha began playing football at the young age of nine. Pouha attended East High School in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, where he was a two-year first-team all-region player and captained East High's state championship team in 1996. He earned ''

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'' honorable mention All-American honors as senior in 1996 and was a ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

'' and ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' first-team all-state selection. Pouha signed a letter of intent with

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in 1997, then left on a Mormon mission to Pittsburgh.

College career

In his senior season at

, Pouha earned All-Mountain West Conference first-team honors and was named ''

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honorable mention after starting ten games, recording 36

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, four passes defended and one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

, and helped lead

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

's Utes to the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Pouha had never considered playing beyond the college level; however, during his senior season he changed his mind after receiving a phone call from an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

Career

New York Jets

2005

Pouha, who was considered a "project" player, was drafted by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the third round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. Pouha appeared in fourteen games as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

, recording ten tackles and one pass defended.

2006

Following his rookie season, Pouha suffered a torn ACL on the fourth day of training camp and was subsequently knocked out for the entire 2006 football year.

2007

Motivated following his ACL injury which eliminated him for all of 2006, Pouha played in all sixteen games during the season, starting one game. Pouha recorded 39 tackles and had one pass defended.

2008

Pouha once again appeared in all of the team's sixteen matchups, recording 23 tackles, and recorded his first half-

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

of his career against

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

quarterback Matt Cassel.

2009

Pouha went into the 2009 season as the back-up

. Six games into the season, the Jets lost

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

starter Kris Jenkins who suffered a torn ACL. The injury would thrust Pouha into the spotlight as he became the team's starting nose tackle, starting the team's next thirteen games. Pouha achieved multiple career highs, starting a career-high fourteen games and making a career 61 tackles, 34 of which were solo. Pouha and teammate

Mike DeVito Michael Ralph DeVito (born June 10, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He played for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 2007 to 2012, and then the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013 to 2015. He played college ...

helped improve the rushing defense from twenty-first to fourth overall in the NFL. Pouha and the team entered the postseason until falling against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the AFC Championship.

2010

Pouha started the first game of the 2010 season alongside a returning Kris Jenkins. Six plays into the team's Monday night home opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, Jenkins once again suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Pouha, again, assumed Jenkins' role as

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

alongside teammates

and Howard Green. Pouha was considered to be an excellent run-stopper and, as the season progressed, the team liked to see Pouha more involved in pass-rushing and getting to the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. Pouha and the Jets made the postseason for the second straight year but lost to 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the AFC Championship.

2011

In Week 14 of the 2011 NFL season, Pouha tackled running back Jackie Battle in the end zone for a safety vs the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. The Jets finished 8-8 that year.

2012

Po'uha was diagnosed with a back strain during the 2012 season and missed some games because of it. The Jets finished with a 6–10 record that season. Po'uha was released by the Jets on March 12, 2013.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

Po'uha began his coaching career at the

as a student-assistant coach in 2015 and 2016, followed by being the director of football player development in 2017. In 2018, he became the defensive tackles coach at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. After one season at Navy, he returned to Utah as the defensive line coach for 2019. In early 2022 following the 2022 Rose Bowl Po'uha announced on he would be retiring from coaching. For the 2023 season Po'uha chose to return to coaching after being hired at

(BYU).

Personal

Pouha was born to Sonasi and Susana Pouha. He married his college sweetheart, Keiti Kaufusi Pouha, while he was still attending the University of Utah. The couple have four children, two sons and two daughters. Pouha's parents were immigrants from Tonga. Pouha majored in behavior science and health. Pouha created a beverage business named Bula. Pouha has described the beverage as a "relaxation drink" that is a combination of

kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Ancient Greek, Greek 'intoxicating') is a plant in the Piperaceae, pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan language, Tongan and Marqu ...

and valerian root. The drink is currently sold online and in stores in

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. For a time Po'uha served as bishop of the Bountiful 6th Ward, a Tongan-language ward in Utah. He has also served as a seminary and institute teacher in the LDS Church.''Deseret News'' March 29, 2018
/ref>

References

External links

New York Jets bio

Twitter
* https://kslsports.com/476743/utah-dt-coach-sione-pouha-announces-retirement-from-coaching/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Po'uha, Sione 1979 births American people of Tongan descent American football defensive tackles Living people New York Jets players Utah Utes football players Latter Day Saints from Utah Players of American football from Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States Navy Midshipmen football coaches BYU Cougars football coaches