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Leki Fotu

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Tongan-American football player (born 1998)

American football player
Leki Fotu
No. 92 – New York Jets
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1998-08-23) August 23, 1998 (age 26)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:335 lb (152 kg)
Career information
High school:Herriman (UT)
College:Utah (2016–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 4 / pick: 114
Career history
Roster status:Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:89
Sacks:3.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

George "Leki" Fotu (born August 23, 1998) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Early life

Fotu played high school rugby and high school football at Herriman High School, playing defensive end and sporadic tight end. His team won the Utah 5A state championship his senior season. Fotu committed to Utah on September 20, 2015, choosing the Utes over USC, Brigham Young and Oklahoma State.

College career

After his sophomore season, Utah coaches considered moving Fotu from defensive end to offensive tackle, but Fotu instead moved to defensive tackle and claimed the starting spot at that position. At the end of his junior season, Fotu was named first-team all-Pac-12 Conference.

Before his senior season, Fotu was named a preseason All-American by ESPN. During the season, after a game against Cal, Fotu was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after recording a 13-yard sack. He was named second-team midseason All-American by the Associated Press.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Bench press
6 ft 5+3⁄8 in
(1.97 m) 		330 lb
(150 kg) 		34+1⁄4 in
(0.87 m) 		10+5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		 5.15 s 1.80 s 3.00 s 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine

Arizona Cardinals

Fotu was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round with the 114th overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft. He was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury on November 14, 2020, and activated on December 5, 2020. In Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Fotu recorded his first career sack on fellow rookie Jalen Hurts during the 33–26 win.

Fotu entered the 2021 season as the backup nose tackle for the Cardinals. He played in 17 games with three starts, recording 19 tackles, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble.

New York Jets

On March 14, 2024, Fotu signed with the New York Jets. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27. He was activated on October 14, but placed on injured reserve again on October 31.

Personal life

Three of Fotu's brothers have also played college football. Before focusing on football, Fotu also played rugby. Both of Fotu's parents were born in Tonga, but moved to America before Leki was born.

References

  1. ^ Monson, Gordon (August 17, 2019). "Gordon Monson: Utah's all-everything defensive tackle Leki Fotu is a menacing man with a tender prayer in his heart". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  2. Brugler, Dane (April 7, 2020). The Athletic's 2020 NFL Draft Guide (PDF). Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  3. "Leki Fotu (DT): Bio, News, Stats & more". www.azcardinals.com. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. Odegard, Kyle (May 5, 2020). "One-Time Rugby Phenom Leki Fotu Finds Football Groove". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  5. Furlong, Josh (October 28, 2019). "Leki Fotu taking no prisoners as he barrels down on special defensive season". KSL-TV. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  6. "Leki Fotu". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. Sloan, Benjamin (October 3, 2019). "Leki Fotu's Fulfilling His Promise". The Draft Network. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  8. Wood, Trent (August 20, 2019). "Utah defensive linemen Leki Fotu named to ESPN's preseason All-America team". Deseret News. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  9. Kragthorpe, Kurt. "Utah's Leki Fotu is the Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  10. Allen, Trevor (October 15, 2019). "Utah Defensive Tackle Leki Fotu Named AP Midseason All-American". KSL-TV. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Leki Fotu". nfl.com. May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  12. "Utah DT Leki Fotu : 2020 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  13. Zimmerman, Kevin (April 25, 2020). "Cardinals select Utah DT Leki Fotu in 4th round of 2020 NFL Draft". Arizona Sports. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  14. "J.R. Sweezy Activated From IR As Leki Fotu Placed On IR". AZCardinals.com. November 14, 2020.
  15. Urban, Darren (December 5, 2020). "Cardinals Activate Leki Fotu From Injured Reserve". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  16. "Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals - December 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  17. "Leki Fotu 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  18. Pullano, John (March 14, 2024). "DL Leki Fotu Signs with the Jets". New York Jets. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  19. Greenberg, Ethan (August 27, 2024). "Final Cuts | Jets Move 37 to Get Their Roster to 53 Players". NewYorkJets.com.
  20. Greenberg, Ethan (October 31, 2024). "Jets Place WR Allen Lazard, DT Leku Fotu on IR; Sign K Riley Patterson, OL Alec Lindstrom to Active Roster". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  21. Bodkin, Michelle (October 18, 2019). "SENIOR FEATURE: Leki Fotu, Big Man on Campus for Utes". UteZone. 247Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

External links

New York Jets roster
Active
Practice squad
Reserve lists
Arizona Cardinals 2020 NFL draft selections
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