Only 6 Poly's Drafted In 1st Round of NFL Draft Since 1970!

Only 6 players of Polynesian decent have been drafted in the 1st round of the NFL Draft since 1970 ,with the merger of the AFL and NFL.

The following players include:

1. Atlanta Falcons

1. 1977: Wilson Faumuina, San Jose State, DL
1. 
   

   Date of birth:	June 11, 1954 (1954-06-11) (age 55)
   Place of birth:	American Samoa
   Date of death:	1986
   Career information
   Position(s):	Defensive lineman
   College:	San Jose State
   NFL Draft:	1977 / Round: 1 / Pick 20
   Organizations
   As player:
   1977-1981	Atlanta Falcons

2. Cincinnati Bengals

1. 1979: Jack Thompson, Washington State, QB
1. 
   
   

   Date of birth:	May 18, 1956 (1956-05-18) (age 53)
   Place of birth:	Tutuila, American Samoa
   Career information
   Position(s):	Quarterback
   Jersey №:	12, 14
   College:	Washington State
   NFL Draft:	1979 / Round: 1 / Pick 3
   Organizations
   As player:
   1979-1982 1983-1984	Cincinnati Bengals Tampa Bay Buccaneers
   Playing stats at NFL.com

    
3. Seattle Seahawks

1. 1979: Manu Tuiasosopo, UCLA, DT
1. 
   
   

   Date of birth:	August 30, 1957 (1957-08-30) (age 52)
   Place of birth:	Los Angeles, California
   Career information
   Position(s):	Defensive lineman
   College:	UCLA
   NFL Draft:	1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18
   Organizations
   As player:
   1979-1983 1984-1986	Seattle Seahawks San Francisco 49ers
   Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

    
4. San Diego Chargers

1. 1990: Junior Seau, Southern California, LB
1. 
   
   

   Date of birth: January 19, 1969 (1969-01-19) (age 41)
   Place of birth: San Diego, California
   Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 248 lb (112 kg)
   Career information
   College: Southern California
   NFL Draft: 1990 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
   Debuted in 1990 for the San Diego Chargers
   Career history
   As player: San Diego Chargers (1990–2002) Miami Dolphins (2003–2005) New England Patriots (2006–2009)
   Career highlights and awards
   7× First-team All-Pro (1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000) 2× Second-team All-Pro (1997, 1999) 12× Pro Bowl selection (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) NFL 1990s All-Decade Team NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1992) UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year (1992)
   Career NFL statistics as of 2009
   Tackles	1,849
   Sacks	56.5
   Interceptions	18
   Forced fumbles	11
   Pass deflections	21
   Stats at NFL.com

    
5. Pittsburgh Steelers

1. 2003: Troy Polamalu, Southern California, S
1. 
   
   

   Date of birth: April 19, 1981 (1981-04-19) (age 28)
   Place of birth: Garden Grove, California
   Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Weight: 207 lb (94 kg)
   Career information
   College: Southern California
   NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
   Debuted in 2003 for the Pittsburgh Steelers
   Career history
   As player: Pittsburgh Steelers (2003–present)
   Career highlights and awards
   5× Pro Bowl selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) 2× 1st Team AP All-Pro selection (2005, 2008) 1x 2nd Team AP All-Pro selection (2004) 2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII) “Joe Greene Great Performance Award” (2003) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
   Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
   Tackles	452
   Sacks	7.0
   INTs	20
   Stats at NFL.com

    
6. Baltimore Ravens

1. 2006: Haloti Ngata, Oregon, DT
1. 
   
   

   Date of birth: January 21, 1984 (1984-01-21) (age 26)
   Place of birth: Inglewood, California
   Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Weight: 345 lb (156 kg)
   Career information
   College: Oregon
   NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
   Debuted in 2006 for the Baltimore Ravens
   Career history
   As player: Baltimore Ravens (2006–present)
   Roster status: Active
   Career highlights and awards
   1× Pro Bowl selection (2009) 2× Second-team All-Pro selection (2008,2009) 2005 College Football All-American (consensus) 2001 High School All-American (USA Today)
   Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
   Tackles	184
   Sacks	6.5
   INTs	3
   Stats at NFL.com

    

Mike Iupati, Offensive Guard for Idaho, looks like #7 on the list to be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL Draft.  From various 2010 NFL Mock Drafts, and scouting reports, he is considered to be the #1 Offensive Guard in the 2010 NFL Draft class.

Polynesian Player Pool Growing

As the popularity of the NFL increases around the world, the diverse pool of players contributing to the game continues to expand.

When the Browns drafted linebackers David Veikune (52nd overall) and Kaluka Maiava (104th) in the second and fourth rounds respectively, they welcomed two new Pacific Islanders into the NFL.

"Polynesians, they're pretty strong, very powerful, physical people," Veikune said. "The NFL's a very physical game, so I think they put two and two together and started recruiting over there."

"We're just people trying to play football and have a job," said Maiava. "I don't know if we're the chosen few or anything. We're just trying to make a living."

The Bengals, this Sunday's opponent and the Browns' in-state rival, added a player of Samoan descent when they selected linebacker Rey Maualuga with the sixth pick in the second round (No. 38 overall).

Maualuga played linebacker next to Maiava at the University of Southern California and knows what his fellow Samoan brings to the field.

"Kaluka's a great linebacker in my eyes, an undersized linebacker, but has a lot of heart and determination to get things done," Maualuga said in a teleconference Wednesday. "He's a playmaker. Given the opportunity, he will make plays."

Veikune is a native of Wahiawa on the Island of Oahu, while Maiava hails from Wailuku on Maui. Maiava also has roots in American Samoa and proudly displays his heritage with tattoos around his right arm and leg.

In addition to Maualuga, Bengals defensive tackles Jonathan Fanene and Domata Peko are also of Samoan descent.

They are the latest players with roots in the Pacific trying to make an impact at the NFL level. Last season, almost 30 Polynesian players played in the NFL.

Steelers free safety Troy Polamalu has been one of the more high-profile Samoan players to compete in the NFL. He has 438 career tackles, 332 solo stops and 7 quarterback sacks over his seven seasons in Pittsburgh. He has 18 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown during the 2004 season.

Before Polamalu was bothering quarterbacks with blitzes off the edge or providing big hits to receivers going across the middle of the field, linebacker Junior Seau was setting the standard for Samoan players.

Seau played in the NFL from 1990 to 2008 with the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots. During his career, Seau collected 56.5 quarterback sacks and 18 interceptions.

With the success of Hawaiian and Samoan players in the NFL, more people are paying attention to high school and college football in that region. Every coach who scouts in the area is trying to land the next big star from the islands.

"In Samoa, a lot of coaches go over there to recruit out of college," said Veikune. "A lot of guys are getting opportunities that they used to not get before."

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Seau is Newest Return Man

He has taken on a number of interesting sports jobs for his Versus TV show, which will debut Dec. 2.

He has been a member of Scott Dixon’s pit crew, Natalie Gulbis’s caddie, a Los Angeles Dodgers bat boy, an equipment manager with the Washington Capitals, a member of the bull gang at TD Garden, and a rodeo clown on the Pro Bull Riders tour, getting first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be bulldozed by a rip-snorting Brahma.

But the only sports job that Junior Seau was really meant to have was NFL linebacker.

And Versus reported yesterday that the 40-year-old Seau had signed a contract with the Patriots to play a 20th NFL season, although the team did not announce the transaction or make a corresponding move to make room on the 53-man roster.

“I’m very fortunate and honored to be involved with two class organizations - the New England Patriots and Versus,’’ said Seau in a press release. “I want to thank the management of both for making my return to the NFL with the New England Patriots a reality.’’

While coach Bill Belichick declined to confirm the signing, saying, “We don’t have anything to say about it,’’ CEO and chairman Robert Kraft seemed to indicate it was only a formality.

Asked at the league meetings in Boston if Seau was a Patriot again, Kraft said, “I hope he is. At some point he will be.’’

Asked if Seau ranked as one of his favorite players, Kraft said, “Oh yeah, he gave a speech to our group. He gives speeches to the players in the locker room and there aren’t many coaches that could inspire and motivate other players. He is a unique individual with a unique physical frame and unique mental acumen. I’d love to have him part of our team for as long as he wants to be.’’

Seau, who came out of retirement to play four games for the Patriots last season, would be on his fourth tour in Foxborough. He played 11 games in 2006 before suffering an arm injury, and played all 16 games in 2007.

Patriots player personnel director Nick Caserio confirmed only that the team had worked out Seau recently and had him take a physical.

“The reality is, we’re just trying to see where the player’s level of physical conditioning may be and whether he’s in good enough shape to make it through a practice,’’ Caserio said. “He looked like he’s kept himself in shape.’’

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Junior Seau Still Unsure About His Future

Brett Favre may be the guy garnering all the attention about whether or not he will retire from the NFL, but there’s another old, Hall of Fame bound veteran who also is unsure about his status for the 2009 season. That would be linebacker Junior Seau, who joined the New England Patriots late last year to help their depleted defense down the stretch. As of now, Seau says he’s retired, but as you’ll hear, that could change somewhere down the line.

The veteran joined XX 1090 in San Diego to talk about his mindset about playing this year, why he partially understands what Brett Favre is going through, what kind of season he thinks Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson will have and when he thinks he might arrive at his decision about playing in 2009.

On if he’s officially retired or not:

“I’ll definitely look at it at the end of October or November. Let’s put it that way.”

On why it’s so hard for guys like himself and Brett Favre to decide to walk away and then stick to it:

“Because you still can play the game. That’s the only reason. I mean, to allow other decision makers besides your faith when there’s an opportunity, I think we’re always going to hold on to that opportunity as long as we can. And it’s not like we’re hurting anyone. What I’m doing is basically just surfing and enjoying life with the kids and carrying on as if I am retired. But if they happen to need me towards the end of the season like they did last year then I’ll definitely look at it.”

On Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and whether or not he thinks LT will have a big bounce back year in 2009 after the offseason that he has had:

“If that doesn’t motivate him then i don’t know what will. Obviously I know LT and he doesn’t need much motivation going in to any kind of season. I think what has happened in the year previous is that the game catches up injury wise and when you deal with the injuries you’re going to be judged according to how you perform, not whether or not you have an injury. And he felt that the last two years and hopefully he can stay healthy so he can just play football.”

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Junior Seau Opens Ruby Tuesday

Junior Seau is proud to announce that Ruby Tuesday, Temecula located at 41797 Nicole Lane is open for business. The public is invited to an Opening Celebration on Monday, June 15 from 5 to 7 pm.

Seau stated, “I am proud to be a member of the team bringing Ruby Tuesday to Temecula. We intend to add the Spirit of Aloha to Ruby Tuesday’s excellent reputation for fresher, better, reasonably priced food.”

Junior Seau is a well known restaurateur. SEAUS the Restaurant, in San Diego, opened in 1996 and remains San Diego’s number one sports bar/restaurant to this day (Seau.com).

As an NFL All Pro Linebacker, Junior Seau played 13 years with the San Diego Chargers (1990-2002), making 12 Pro-Bowl appearances. He played three years with the Miami Dolphins (2003-2005) and two years with New England Patriots (2006-2007) where he was the defensive co-captain during the Patriot’s phenomenal 2007 18-0 season.

Seau and his partners Ted Davenport, Jeff Howie, Scott Rodi, Scott Nunokawa, Rick Nakashima and Ken Nascimento, opened Ruby Tuesday in San Bernardino in August of 2008. Ted Davenport owns and operates 127 Subways and five Ruby Tuesdays in Hawaii and Guam.

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