Josiah Tauaefa
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | March 5, 1997 Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Lake Dallas (Corinth, Texas) | ||||||
| College: | UTSA | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2019 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Josiah Tauaefa (born March 5, 1997) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at UTSA.
Early life and high school
[edit]Tauaefa grew up in Corinth, Texas and attended Lake Dallas High School, where he played fullback, linebacker and tight end on the football team. He was named the District 6-4A Defensive Most Valuable Player as a junior and named the District 6-5A Defensive Most Valuable Player and first-team all-district on offense as a senior.[1]
College career
[edit]Tauaefa spent four seasons as a member of the UTSA Roadrunners, redshirting his freshman year. In his redshirt freshman season, Tauaefa recorded a school-record 115 tackles (nine for loss), six sacks and an interception and was named first-team All-Conference USA, the conference Freshman of the Year, and became the first UTSA player to be named a Freshman All-American.[2] As a redshirt junior, Tauaefa made a team-leading 113 total tackles and also led the Roadrunners with 11.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks and was named honorable mention All-Conference USA.[3] Tauaefa declared for the NFL draft following his redshirt junior season, forgoing his final year of eligibility[4] and graduating from UTSA in 2018 with a degree in communications.[5]
Professional career
[edit]Tauaefa signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2019.[6] He was cut by the Giants at the end of training camp but was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 1, 2019.[7] Tauaefa was promoted to the Giants' active roster on October 1, 2019.[8] Tauaefa made his NFL debut on October 6, 2019 against the Minnesota Vikings, making three tackles (two for a loss).[9]
Tauaefa was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Giants on August 4, 2020,[10] but was activated the next day.[11] He was waived on September 5, 2020.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Moreno, Eric (March 6, 2019). "Playing in Controlled Chaos – A UTSA Q&A with Josiah Tauaefa". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ Luca, Greg (April 27, 2019). "UTSA product Tauaefa ready for shot as undrafted free agent with New York Giants". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Taylor, John (December 30, 2018). "UTSA losing star LB Josiah Tauaefa to early draft entry". Profootballtalk.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Cely, Andrew (December 28, 2018). "UTSA's Josiah Tauaefa declares for NFL Draft". KSAT.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ "Josiah Tauaefa - 2018 - University of Texas at San Antonio". goutsa.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Flores, David (April 27, 2019). "UTSA linebacker Tauaefa joining New York Giants as undrafted free agent". kens5.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ Mills, Andrew (September 1, 2019). "Here is the Giants' 2019 practice squad-Reggie White Jr., Josiah Tauaefa and more get second chances". NJ.com.
- ^ Traina, Patricia (October 1, 2019). "Giants Add Golden Tate, Josiah Tauaefa to Roster". SI.com.
- ^ Salomone, Dan. "Instant Analysis: Giants fall to Vikings, 28-10". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (August 4, 2020). "Markus Golden re-signs with Giants; led team in sacks in 2019". Giants.com. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (August 5, 2020). "Cornerback Sam Beal opts out of 2020 season". Giants.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 5, 2020). "New York Giants announce 53-man roster". Giants.com.