Jonah Tavai Season 2021

Final Bio

HONORS
* 2022 Pro Football Focus All-American (First Team)
* 2022 Bleacher Report All-American (First Team)
* 2022 Associated Press All-American (Second Team)
* 2022 USA Today All-American (Second Team)
* 2022 Phil Steele Magazine All-American (Honorable Mention)
* 2022 College Football Network All-American (Honorable Mention)
* 2021 The Action Network All-American (First Team)
* 2022 First-Team All-Mountain West
* Two-time Honorable-Mention All-Mountain West (2020-21)
* 2021 Bleacher Report All-Bowl Team
* 2022 San Diego State Defensive Player of the Year
* 2022 San Diego State Defensive Lineman of the Year

Contributed right away in 2019, despite starting fall camp late ... Big body, who is an anchor in the 3-3-5 defense ... An excellent run stopper ... Came back for another season, utilizing the NCAA’s COVID exception ... Ranked third in program history with 24 sacks ... Older brother, Justus, was a fellow senior defensive lineman on the team.

^SENIOR SEASON (2022)
Was named a first-team All-American by both Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report, a second-team pick by both the Associated Press and USA?Today, and an honorable-mention selection by Phil Steele Magazine and College Football Network... Was named a first-team all-Mountain West selection by the league’s head coaches and media ... It was his third time as an all-conference player, but first time on either the first or second team ... Landed on the all-conference first team by Pro Football Focus, Phil Steele Magazine and College Football Network ... Was a team captain as voted on by his teammates ... Was named to the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award ... Also was named a preseason first-team all-Mountain West selection by the league’s media, Phil Steele Magazine and Athlon Sports ... Also was a second-team all-MW pick by Athlon Sports ... Was named “SDSU’s No. 2 player” by Athlon Sports and a “SDSU?player to watch” by Lindy’s Sports ... Had 60 tackles (32 solo), including 14 tackles for loss (for 83 yards), 10.5 sacks (for 80 yards), a forced fumble and 15 quarterback hurries in his 13 starts ... Ranked in a tie for seventh in single-season history with 10.5 sacks ... Ranked second in the Mountain West in sack yards (80, T-4th in FBS), sacks (10.5, T-7th in FBS) and sacks per game (0.81, T-9th in FBS), third in total tackle for loss yards (83, 16th in FBS), fourth in total tackles for loss (14.0, T-29th in FBS) and seventh in tackles for loss per game (1.08, T-48th in FBS) ... According to?Pro Football Focus, he had the fourth-highest pass rush grade in FBS (92.2, min. 200 pass opportunities) and the fifth-highest defensive grade (92.0, min. 500 snaps). Both marks easily led the Mountain West ... Per PFF, he had the second-most quarterback pressures (69) in the country, the third-most hurries (46), and tied for the 17th-most QB hits (11) ...Had four tackles (three solo), including 0.5 tackles for loss, in a start and 63 snaps against Arizona on Sept. 3 ... According to Pro Football Focus, he had nine quarterback pressures in the game (eight hurries and one sack) ...  Had an assisted tackle and four QB pressures (per PFF) in 58 snaps in a start vs. Idaho State on Sept. 10 ... Also had two quarterback hurries ... Came up with six tackles (five solo) and a quarterback hurry in a start across 57 defensive snaps at No. 14/15 Utah on Sept. 17 ... Totaled a team-high six quarterback pressures, according to PFF ... Registered four tackles (two solo), including a 2-yard sack and two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry in 57 snaps in a start vs. Toledo on Sept. 24 ... It was his second career forced fumble and first since Nov. 14, 2020 vs. Hawai’i ... Registered five tackles (two solo), a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries at Boise State on Sept. 30 ... Played 53 snaps on defense with five quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus (three hurries, two hits) ... Had two solo tackles and three quarterback hurries in a start and 49 snaps against Hawai’i on Oct. 8 ... Had another good game at Nevada on Oct. 22, recording four tackles (three solo), including two sacks (and tackles for loss) for 15 yards ... Played 54 of the 64 snaps ... According to Pro Football Focus, logged six quarterback pressures overall, including two sacks and four hurries ... Was named to the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week ... Was named one of SDSU’s defensive players of the game ... Had another solid game at Fresno State on Oct. 29, recording then season highs in tackles (6), sacks (2.5) and tackles for loss (2.5), while adding a quarterback hurry ... Played 67 of the team’s 75 defensive snaps ... According to Pro Football Focus, he led the country for the week in quarterback pressures (10) with five hurries, three sacks and two hits ... Came up with five assisted tackles, including 0.5 sacks (and 0.5 TFL), in 50 of 61 defensive snaps vs. UNLV on Nov. 5 ... Had three tackles - all sacks - in a start and 50 defensive snaps vs. San José State on Nov. 12 ... Matched a career high with three sacks, while adding a season-high three tackles for loss ... Also recorded SDSU’s first safety since 2013 and first on defense since 2010  ... Now has nine sacks this season (T-11th in SDSU single-season history) and 22.5 for his career (3rd in program history) ... Came up with four tackles (one solo) and a quarterback hurry in 41 defensive snaps at New Mexico on Nov. 18 ... Logged a career-high 12 tackles (six solo), along with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry, in a start and 67 of the team’s 70 snaps vs. Air Force on Nov. 26 ... The 12 tackles were five more than his previous best and tied Michael Shawcroft for the most in the game ... Had three tackles (two solo), including 1.5 sacks (and 1.5 TFL) and two quarterback hurries in his final collegiate game vs. Middle Tennessee in the Hawai’i Bowl on?Dec. 22 in another start and 71 snaps ... Finished with 10.5 sacks for the season, tied for the seventh most in SDSU single-season history ... Finished his career with 24 sacks (third in program history).

SENIOR SEASON (2021)
Was named a first-team All-America selection by The Action Network ... Was named a honorable-mention all-Mountain West selection by the league’s coaches and media ... Also was named to the Pro Football Focus Mountain West Team of the Year at defensive interior (first team) ... Racked up some preseason recognition, including being named to the all-Mountain West second team by Phil Steele Magazine at defensive line and Pro Football Focus at interior defensive line, and a fourth-team pick by Athlon Sports (DL) ... Also was named “SDSU’s fourth-best defensive player” by College Football News ... Had 47 tackles (23 solo), including 14 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hurries in 14 starts ... Was ranked sixth in the Mountain West in total sacks (8.5, T-37th in FBS), seventh in sacks per game (0.61, T-54th in FBS) and tackles for loss (14.0, T-52nd in FBS), eighth in sack yards (57, T-37th in FBS), ninth in tackles for loss yards (65, T-57th in FBS), and tied for 10th in tackles for loss per game (1.00) ... According to Pro Football Focus, ranked second in the Mountain West in quarterback pressures (sacks/hits/hurries) (61, T-7th in FBS) and hurries (40, T-8th in FBS), and tied for fifth in hits (11, T-21st in FBS) ... Started the opener with New Mexico State on Sept. 4, recording an assisted tackle and two quarterback hurries in 61 snaps ... Came up with a solo tackle, which went down as a 1-yard loss, and three quarterback hurries in 40 snaps in a start at Arizona on Sept. 11 ... Recorded four tackles (one solo) with 0.5 tackles for loss in 76 snaps in a start against Utah on Sept. 18 ... Logged three tackles (one solo) against Towson on Sept. 25, including two tackles for loss for 10 yards and a 7-yard sack across 43 snaps ... Came up with three assisted tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, in 42 snaps in a start against New Mexico on Oct. 9 ... Had a season-high six tackles (three solo) in 72 snaps in a start at San José State on Oct. 15 ... Had three solo tackles in a grueling 52 defensive snaps (out of 65) at Air Force on Oct. 23 ... Finished with a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 88.3, the highest of his career at the time and easily the highest on the team for the game (No. 2. was 76.6) ... For his efforts he was named one of the team’s defensive players of the game ... Came up with four tackles (two solo), including a 7-yard sack (and TFL) and a quarterback hurry against Fresno State on Oct. 30 across 70 defensive snaps in a start ... Had a good game in a start at Hawai’i on Nov. 6, registering four tackles (two solo), including two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks ... Played 50 snaps overall ... Had an assisted tackle and a quarterback hurry in 51 starting snaps against Nevada on Nov. 13 ... Came up with an assisted tackle in a start and 45 snaps at UNLV on Nov. 19 ... Was named to the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week for his play against Boise State on Nov. 26 when he had six tackles (four solo), three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries ... Had a career-high three sacks (entered game with 3.5 for the season) and 3.5 tackles for loss (entered with 7.0 for the season) ... The six tackles tied a season high and tied for six others for the most on the team ... According to Pro Football Focus, he had a career-high Pro Football Focus grade of 92.0 and a career-best 11 pressures (sacks/hits/hurries), outpressuring Boise State, 11-8, by himself ... Had the highest pass rushing grade (91.8) in the country (min. 50 snaps) for the week according to PFF and the fourth-highest overall grade (92.0, min. 50 snaps) ... The 11 pressures were tied with Auburn’s T.D. Moultry for the second most in the country for the week, trailing Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson’s 15 ... Was chosen as one of SDSU’s defensive players of the game ... Registered four tackles (three solo) against Utah State in the Mountain West Championship game on Dec. 4, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a 9-yard sack ... Played 56 snaps overall ... Came up with six tackles (three solo), including a sack and two tackles for loss in 52 snaps against No. 24/25 UTSA in the Tropical Smoothie Frisco Bowl en route to being named to the Bleacher Report All-Bowl Team ... Finished with five sacks and seven tackles for loss over his final three games.

JUNIOR SEASON (2020)
Was named an honorable-mention all-Mountain West selection as voted on by the league’s head coaches and media  ... Had 25 tackles (15 solo) on the season in eight games and five starts, including six tackles for loss for 45 yards, 3.5 sacks for 38 yards, a forced fumble and five quarterback hurries ... Ranked fifth in MW (T-51st in FBS) in sack yards (38) and sixth (T-67th in FBS) in tackles for loss yards (45) ... Came off the bench against UNLV on Oct. 24 in the opener to record an 8-yard sack (and TFL) ... Had one solo stop in playing time at Utah State on Oct. 31 ... Registered a 4-yard tackle for loss in time off the bench vs. San José State on Nov. 6 ... Had a big game in his second career start vs. Hawai’i on Nov. 14, making five tackles (three solo), and career highs of 2.5 tackles for loss (for 27 yards) and two sacks (for 26 yards), with his first career forced fumble ... For his efforts was named the team’s defensive player of the game ... Started again at Nevada on Nov. 21, recording three tackles (one solo), 0.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries ... Started at Colorado on Nov. 28, where he had a career-high six tackles (four solo) with 0.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry ... Had a career-high seven tackles (four solo) with a 9-yard sack (and TFL) in another start against Colorado State on Dec. 5 ... Started again at No. 14/16 Brigham Young, where he had a solo tackle and two quarterback hurries.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019)
Played all 13 games, starting once ... Had 15 tackles (seven solo), including 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks ... Had a solo tackle in the opener against Weber State in six snaps ... Also had a solo stop in 14 snaps at UCLA ... Played six statless snaps at New Mexico State ... Had a pair of solo tackles against Utah State in 18 snaps ... Registered an assisted stop in 11 snaps at Colorado State ... Played three snaps without recording a stat vs. Wyoming ... Had two assisted tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, in 10 snaps at San José State ... Had a career-high three tackles at UNLV, along with his first piece of a sack (0.5) and 0.5 tackles for loss in 16 snaps ... Played nine snaps vs. Nevada without recording a stat ... Recorded two assisted tackles in 16 snaps vs. Fresno State ... Started for the first time of his career at Hawai’i, making two solo tackles, including a 4-yard sack (and tackle for loss) in 19 snaps ... The sack came on the first snap in his first career start ... Saw action in 22 statless snaps vs. Brigham Young ... Came off the bench vs. Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl, making one solo tackle.

AT EL CAMINO COLLEGE (2018)
Spent one year at El Camino College, where he was a second-team all-league pick and an honorable-mention All-American ... Helped the Warriors make the semifinals of the state playoffs ... Appeared in 10 games, recording 34 tackles (13 solo), 1.5 sacks and six tackles for loss ... Also was utilized as a running back in goal line situations and rushed six times for 12 yards (2.0 avg.) with three touchdowns.

HIGH SCHOOL
Was a three-year letter winner at Mira Costa High School, but played four years, starting as a 13-year-old freshman ... Was a three-time first-team all-league pick ... Also was the league's MVP and defensive MVP ... Was a two-time all-area honoree and an all-CIF selection ... Also was a Top 25 high school rugby player for two years ... Also competed on the track and field team as a thrower.

PERSONAL
Jonah David Tavai born Dec. 13, 2000, in Inglewood, Calif. ... Son of William and Nafanva Tavai ... Comes from a talent-rich family as four of his brothers played or currently Division I football, including Jahlani (Hawai’i, now with Detroit Lions), Jordan (Kansas), J.R. (USC, once played for Tennessee Titans) and Justus (Hawai’i, currently playing) ... Uncle, John Schuster, also was a rugby union player who represented New Zealand as a member of the All Blacks ... Picked the Aztecs over other offers from Iowa State and San José State, among others ... Is majoring in business administration.

SINGLE-GAME BESTS
Tackles: 12  vs. Air Force (11/26/22)
Tackles For Loss: 3.5 vs. Boise State (11/26/21)
Sacks: 3.0 vs. San José State (11/12/22), vs. Boise State (11/26/21)
Forced Fumbles: 1 vs. Toledo (9/24/22), vs. Hawai’i (11/14/20)