 Faoliu with the Cowboys in 2021 | |||||
| Profile | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Nose tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | January 9, 1999 Santa Ana, California, U.S. | ||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 305 lb (138 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) | ||||
| College | Oregon | ||||
| NFL draft | 2021: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Austin Faoliu (born January 9, 1999) is an American football nose tackle. He played college football at the University of Oregon.
Faoliu attended Junípero Serra Catholic High School. [1] As a sophomore, he had 48 carries for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns.
As a senior, he transferred to Mater Dei High School and was named a starter at nose guard. [2] He tallied 32 tackles (9 for loss), 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble, while receiving All-County honors. He contributed to a second place in the CIF Southern Section Division 1.
Faoliu accepted a football scholarship from the University of Oregon. [3] As a freshman, he appeared in 12 games, starting the first two contests. He posted 22 tackles (2.5 for loss) and one sack. He had 3 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble against the University of Arizona. He made 4 tackles against Boise State University.
As a sophomore, he appeared in 11 games with 6 starts. He totaled 44 tackles and 2 sacks. He had 7 tackles against Portland State University. He made 7 tackles against the University of Utah.
As a junior, he appeared in 13 games with 8 starts. He registered 39 tackles (5 for loss), 2 sacks. He had 6 tackles and 1.5 sacks against Arizona State University. He made 8 tackles (1.5 for loss) and one quarterback hurry against Oregon State University.
As a senior, the football season was reduced to 7 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started in 6 contests, while collecting 21 tackles (0.5 for loss). He had five tackles against Oregon State University. He finished his college career with 43 games, 124 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 287 lb (130 kg) | 32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | |||||||||
| All values from Pro Day [4] [5] | ||||||||||||
Faoliu was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2021 NFL draft on May 14. [6] On August 31, he was waived. [7] On September 1, he was signed to the practice squad. On September 27, he was promoted to the active roster. He appeared in one game and had 2 tackles. [8]
He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 19, 2022. He was waived on August 15, 2022. [9]
Faoliu was selected by the XFL Seattle Sea Dragons in the Group 3 fourth round (31st overall) of the 2023 XFL draft. [10] [11] He appeared in 10 games with 10 starts, making 24 tackles and one sack. He was released from his contract on May 15, 2023. [12]
On May 16, 2023, Faoliu signed with the Seattle Seahawks. [13] He was placed on the reserve/PUP list on August 29, 2023. [14] He was activated on November 6, then waived the following day and re-signed to the practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract. [15]
On February 19, 2024, Faoliu signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL), [16] and signed a new contract with them on February 27. [17]