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Hercules Mata'afa
No. 51
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1995-09-18) September 18, 1995 (age 29)
Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Lahainaluna (Lahaina)
College:Washington State
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:25
Sacks:2.5
Fumble recoveries:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Hercules Mata'afa (born September 18, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning consensus All-American honors in 2017. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.

College career

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Mata'afa attended and played college football at Washington State.[1][2] As a junior in 2017, Mata'afa was a consensus All-American and was named the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.[3][4][5] He was also named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.[6] On December 31, 2017, Mata'afa declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL draft.[7]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in
(1.89 m) 		254 lb
(115 kg) 		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m) 		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 4.76 s 1.64 s 2.76 s 4.37 s 7.24 s 31.5 in
(0.80 m)		 9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)		 26 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8][9]

Minnesota Vikings

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Mata'afa signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2018.[10] However, on June 6, he suffered a season-ending injury to his ACL.[11] He was waived/injured on June 20, 2018, and was placed on injured reserve after clearing waivers.[12] He was signed back to the Vikings for the 2019 preseason. He managed to make the final roster coming out of training camp. On September 15, 2019, in his NFL debut, he recovered an Aaron Rodgers fumble in a loss to the Packers.[13]

Mata'afa was waived by the Vikings on October 13, 2020,[14] and re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[15] He was elevated to the active roster on October 31 for the team's Week 8 game against the Green Bay Packers, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[16] He was promoted to the active roster on November 6, 2020.[17]

On August 31, 2021, Mata'afa was waived by the Vikings.[18]

Washington Football Team

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The Washington Football Team signed Mata'afa to their practice squad on December 14, 2021.[19] He was released on December 22.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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On December 28, 2021, Mata'afa was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, but was released six days later.[20]

New Jersey Generals

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Mata'afa signed with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League on May 19, 2022.[21] He re-signed with the Generals on October 11, 2023.[22] The Generals folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[23]

Birmingham Stallions

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On January 5, 2024, Mata'afa was selected by the Birmingham Stallions during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft.[24] He signed with the team on February 28.[25] He was released on March 10, 2024.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Hercules Mata'afa - Football". Washington State University Athletics. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Woods, Greg (August 12, 2023). "Former WSU star Hercules Mata'afa's family raising money for loss of home in Hawaii". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  3. ^ Lawson, Theo (December 12, 2017). "Hercules Mata'afa becomes Washington State's first consensus All-American DL in 15 years". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Loh, Stefanie (December 12, 2017). "WSU's Hercules Mata'afa named Polynesian College Football Player of the Year; also becomes consensus All-American". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Lawson, Theo (December 12, 2017). "Washington State defensive tackle Hercules Mata'afa named Polynesian Player of the Year". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "WSU's Mata'afa named AP Pac-12 Defensive Player of Year". Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. Associated Press. December 11, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  7. ^ Nusser, Jeff (December 31, 2017). "Hercules Mata'afa declares for NFL Draft". CougCenter. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hercules Mata'afa Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "2018 Draft Scout Hercules Mataafa, Washington State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Vikings Agree to Terms with Undrafted Free Agents". Vikings.com. April 30, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  11. ^ Krammer, Andrew (June 6, 2018). "Vikings rookie defensive end Mata'afa tears ACL in practice". StarTribune.com. StarTribune. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  12. ^ Ratke, Kyle (June 21, 2018). "Vikings sign LB Mike Needham". Vikings Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers – September 15th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Hercules Mata'afa: Waived by Minnesota". CBSSports.com. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  15. ^ Krammer, Andrew (October 15, 2020). "Vikings re-sign defensive tackle Hercules Mata'afa to practice squad". StarTribune.com. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. ^ "Vikings Activate Dantzler From Reserve / COVID-19 List, Announce Other Roster Moves". Vikings.com. October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  17. ^ "Vikings Place CB Mark Fields on Reserve/Injured; Announce Roster Moves". Vikings.com. November 6, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves to Get to Initial 53". Vikings.com. August 31, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Selby, Zach (December 14, 2021). "Washington signs Nate Orchard, adds Hercules Mata'afa to the practice squad". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  20. ^ "Roster Moves: Jaguars place 3 more on Reserve/COVID-19 list, sign 2 to active roster & more". Jaguars.com. December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  21. ^ @USFLGenerals (May 19, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ @USFLGenerals (October 11, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved October 11, 2023 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  24. ^ "2024 UFL Team Rosters". TheUFL.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "UFL Player Transactions, Wednesday February 28, 2024". UFLBoard.com. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
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