 Tuipulotu in 2025 | |||||||||||||
| No. 45 – Los Angeles Chargers | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (2002-09-03)September 3, 2002 (age 23) Hawthorne, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 266 lb (121 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Lawndale(Lawndale, California) | ||||||||||||
| College | USC (2020–2022) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: 2nd round, 54th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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Tuli Tuipulotu (born September 3, 2002) is an American professionalfootballlinebacker for theLos Angeles Chargers of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans, where he was named thePat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year and aunanimous All-American in 2022. Tuipulotu was selected by the Chargers in the second round of the2023 NFL draft.
Tuipulotu grew up inHawthorne, California and attendedLawndale High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to playingcollege football at USC over offers from California, Utah, Washington, and Stanford.[1][2]
As a freshman, Tuipulotu played in all six games with three starts in USC's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and had 22 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss of and two sacks.[3][4] He was named first-teamAll-Pac-12 Conference after recording 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and a team 5.5 sacks.[5][6] Tuipulotu was named a team captain entering his junior season. He finished the season with an FBS-leading 13.5 sacks, and was named a finalist for the Bednarik, Nagurski, and Hendricks awards.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 266 lb (121 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | |||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Tuipulotu was selected by theLos Angeles Chargers in the second round, 54th overall, of the2023 NFL draft.[9] He was named to the PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team.[10]
Tuipulotu's older brother,Marlon Tuipulotu, also played defensive tackle at USC and currently plays in theNational Football League for theKansas City Chiefs.[11] He is also a cousin of former USC and currentDenver Broncos safetyTalanoa Hufanga.[12]
He is of Tongan descent.[13]