Will Tukuafu Gets Shot With 49ers

Tukuafu, who was released by the Seattle Seahawks on June 22, was signed to a two-year contract Thursday by the San Francisco 49ers.

His tryout with the Niners figures to start on Sunday in a preseason game at Indianapolis.

The 6-4, 272-pound Tukuafu, 26, was called upon when San Francisco received a roster exemption for the absent Kentwan Balmer, who has been placed on the NFL's "left squad" list.

Tukuafu, a rookie from Salt Lake City, was Oregon's Most Inspirational and Outstanding Defensive Lineman from the Rose Bowl team of 2009. Over the past three seasons with the Ducks, he totaled 131 tackles, 14 1/2 sacks, five fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles.

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Alualu & Te'o-Nesheim Hope to Make the Hendricks Award Watchlist

Pac-10 defenses are getting some recognition, with the Hendricks Award adding three conference defensive ends to its watch list: UCLA's Korey Bosworth, Stanford's Tom Keiser and Arizona's Brooks Reed.

Already on the watch list were: Arizona State's Dexter Davis, Oregon's Will Tukuafu and Stanford's Erik Lorig,

Still missing: USC's Everson Griffen, California's Cameron Jordan and Tyson Alualu and Washington's Daniel Te'o-Nesheim.

Alualu and Griffen, notably, have 2.5 sacks and 2.0 sacks respectively.

Says the press release: "The Mid-Season Watch List, which will remain open to adjustments through our first vote, now includes 40 players. This list will be shortened to include five to six finalists in the final weeks of the season, and the final vote will be concluded on December 7th. The 2009 Hendricks Award winner will be announced December 9th."

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Oregon Defender Has SLC Roots

Will Tukuafu grew up as an avid Utah fan. He attended high school just down from the university at East High always attended Utah's football camps where he loved learning under coach Kyle Whittingham 's guidance and watched his brother, Pasa , play for the Utes.

All those good feelings toward the Utes will be put aside come Saturday though, when Tukuafu does everything he can to send the Utes home from Oregon with a loss.

The 6-foot-4, 272-pound Tukuafu is Oregon's star defensive end who ranked fifth in the Pac-10 in 2008 in tackles for loss (17.5) and tied for eighth in quarterback sacks (7.5).

He had seven tackles against Purdue to earn his team's Player of the Week honors and envisions another big game for himself against the Utes.

Having grown up as a Utah fan, Tukuafu has followed the Utes in their recent success and said he has made sure his teammates won't underestimate Utah.

"We have a lot of respect for Utah, we know they're a great team, and coach Whittingham has done a great job for them," he said. "They're similar to us. It's going to come down to who wants it more."

Interestingly, as much as Tukuafu has followed the Utes, his plans never were to be a part of the program. He was headed to BYU, but after working a year and going on a two-year LDS Church mission, discovered he was short on the academic requirements. He attended Mesa Community College instead and blossomed into one of the top junior college defensive lineman. He decided Oregon was the best fit for him to "try some new things out."

Now he can't wait to see his old friends and hopefully beat them.

"We're excited to play them down here," he said. "This stadium will get rocking, but I think Utah is used to this kind of thing. They've played in Provo and in the Sugar Bowl, we know Utah is going to come in here and play hard."

No hitters to hits

Throughout fall camp, Joe Dale wore a special shell over his jersey indicating he couldn't be hit after offseason shoulder surgery.

His first real action was the season opener.

The lack of hits though has apparently done nothing to soften up Utah's defensive back.

Dale leads the Utes with 14 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

The senior said he was a little tentative at first since he hadn't any live reps since the Sugar Bowl, but he is confident in his shoulder and in his play now.

"I still deal with some soreness, but it's not a big deal," he said. "I have to trust it's going to hold up."

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Will Tukuafu on the Bednarik Watch List

Oregon defensive end Will Tukuafu is one of 55 players on the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to college football's top defensive player.

Tukuafu had already been named to the preseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, which is given to the nation's top defensive end.

Tukuafu, who had 7 ½ sacks and 17 ½ tackles for loss last season, is one of nine Pacific-10 Conference players on the 55-man Bednarik list.

The 25-year-old Tukuafu is not only older than most of his teammates, but he also is one of the few married players on the team. He credits much of his success on the field with the support he receives at home from wife Krystal, who he married in February 2008.

"Marriage has been awesome," Tukuafu said. "I have the greatest wife in the world. She helps me so much, more than she probably even knows."

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