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6 foot 5, 149kg ex-rugby player Fotu a 4th round NFL draft pick
They don’t make ’em much bigger than 6’5, 149kg Leki Fotu, a former rugby player who has been drafted in the fourth round by NFL franchise the Arizona Cardinals. The 21-year-old was the 114th overall pick and played defensive tackle at Utah. His 4-year contract is reportedly worth $3.41 million, including a signing bonus of $773,000.
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Before turning his hand full-time to American football, Fotu was a talented rugby player who represented the USA Schools team as a teenager. He ultimately chose the educational and career opportunities afforded to him by the American sport.
Born in Oakland, CA to a Tongan father, Fotu credits rugby for the athleticism that marks him out as a football player. “For me, playing and transitioning into football, it definitely helped me out and helped mold the player that I am today,” he told Howard Balzer of Sports Illustrated. “The way that I move right now with my size; in rugby you have to be able to move and run and be conditioned as a big guy. Being on the defensive side, in rugby there’s no pads or anything involved, so when you come back to football wearing pads you have the courage to do anything. Everything that I did with that sport definitely helped me out with my athleticism and the way that I move inside for the position I play.”
Vita Vea… I mean Leki Fotu is a giant!!! Basically just a big man in the middle. Reminds me a lot of Vita Vea but more athletic. Overall a decent pick.
C+ pic.twitter.com/6OyX8S7El2— Gabe ? (@Gabepvm3) April 25, 2020
Fotu is the latest in a line of huge but mobile rugby athletes to be sought out by the NFL. The Cardinals signed fellow Utah graduate Paul Lasike in 2015, after which he switched to the Chicago Bears, before returning to rugby with the MLR and latterly Harlequins.
6 foot 8, 156kg former league player Jordan Mailata continues to be viewed as a very decent prospect, although injury has set back his development, while 6 foot 9, 124kg former Worcester Warriors lock Christian Scotland-Williamson is still attached to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Maybe the most successful rugby player to play in the NFL, was 6 foot, 136kg defensive tackle Stephen Paea. Born in Auckland, Paea grew up playing rugby before emigrating to the United States. He still holds the NFL combine record on the bench press, with a barely imaginable 49 reps of 102kgs. Paea enjoyed a six year career in the NFL, as is a Crusaders fans by all accounts.
In the less enormous category, Scot Jamie Gillan is the starting punter for the Cleveland Browns, while Christian Wade and Alex Gray are also still on active rosters.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Don’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to comments