Vita Vea

Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea[2] (born February 5, 1995), commonly known as Vita Vea, is an American football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington.

Vita Vea
Vea in 2018
No. 50 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-05) February 5, 1995
Milpitas, California
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:347 lb (157 kg)
Career information
High school:Milpitas (CA)
College:Washington
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:63
Sacks:5.5
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Pass deflections:3
Player stats at NFL.com

College career

As a junior in 2017, Vea was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and won the Morris Trophy.[3][4] On January 2, 2018, Vita declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[5]

College Statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP Comb Solo Ast TFL Sack PD Int Yds Avg TD FF FR Yds TD
2015 WAS 11 17 13 4 3.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2016 WAS 14 39 22 17 6.5 5.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2017 WAS 12 43 30 13 5.5 3.5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 37 99 65 34 15.0 9.5 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Professional career

Vea participated in the 2018 NFL Combine, but did not complete all drills due to a hamstring injury.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 347 lb
(157 kg)		 32 5⁄8 in
(0.83 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		 5.10 s 1.76 s 2.95 s 41 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

Vea was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round (12th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[8]

2018 season

Vea sprained his calf during training camp, forcing him to miss the entire preseason as well as the first 3 games of the regular. Vea records his first career sack in Week 10, during a 16-3 loss to the Washington Redskins.

He finished his rookie year with 28 tackles and 3 sacks.

2019 season
Vea in a game against the Tennessee Titans

In Week 12, during a 35-22 win against the Atlanta Falcons, Vea recorded a sack, a career-best 2 pass deflections, and caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jameis Winston. As a result, Vea became the first defensive player since J.J. Watt in 2014 to record a sack and catch a touchdown in the same game, the 9th player in NFL history to accomplish both in the same game, and the heaviest player in NFL history to catch a touchdown at 347 pounds.[9]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Receiving
GPGSCombSoloAstSackSftyPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFRYdsTDRecYdsAvgLongTD
2018Tampa Bay 138282173.00000000000000000
2019Tampa Bay 14142915141.503000000000111.011
Career27225736214.503000000000111.011

Personal life

Vea is the son of Sione and Fipe Vea, immigrants from Tonga.[10]

References
  1. "Pac-12 Football Awards and All-Conference Team Announced". Pac-12.
  2. Jude, Adam (April 24, 2018). "Vita Vea is poised to become Huskies' second consecutive first-round NFL draft pick". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  3. Jude, Adam (December 5, 2017). "UW's Vita Vea named Morris Trophy winner as Pac-12's top defensive lineman". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  4. Jude, Adam (December 5, 2017). "UW's Vita Vea named Pac-12's defensive player of the year". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  5. "Washington star DL Vita Vea declares for NFL draft". Q13 FOX. January 2, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  6. Goodbread, Chase (March 4, 2018). "Vita Vea ends NFL Combine workout with hamstring injury". NFL. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  7. "NFL Draft & Combine Profile - Vita Vea". NFL.com.
  8. Smith, Scott (April 26, 2018). "Revitalized Line: Bucs Nab Vita Vea at #12". Buccaneers.com.
  9. "Big guy, big catch: Vea TD leads Bucs past Falcons 35-22". www.espn.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  10. "Buccaneers draft Vita Vea". Matangi Tonga. April 30, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
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