Tuli Tuipulotu (; born September 3, 2002) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he was named the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American in 2022. Tuipulotu was selected by the Chargers in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Early life Tuipulotu grew up in Hawthorne, California and attended Lawndale High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to playing college football at USC over offers from California, Utah, Washington, and Stanford.
College career As a freshman, Tuipulotu played in all six games with three starts in USC's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and had 22 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss of and two sacks. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference after recording 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and a team 5.5 sacks. Tuipulotu was named a team captain entering his junior season. He finished the season with an FBS-leading 13.5 sacks, and was named a finalist for the Bednarik, Nagurski, and Hendricks awards.
Professional career
Tuipulotu was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the second round, 54th overall, of the 2023 NFL draft. He was named to the PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team. In the 2025 season, he was named to his first Pro Bowl.
Career statistics Legend Bold Career high NFL
Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2023 LAC 17 11 53 37 16 4.5 8 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 2024 LAC 17 9 42 26 16 8.5 11 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2025 LAC 16 16 49 35 14 13.0 20 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 2 0 1 11 0 2026 LAC 2 2 6 3 3 1.5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0Career 52 38 150 101 49 26.0 39 0 0 0.0 0 0 7 5 0 2 11 0
Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2024 LAC 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2025 LAC 1 1 2 2 0 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Career 2 1 2 2 0 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
College Legend Led the NCAA
Year Team GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg TD PD FF FR Yds TD 2020 USC 6 22 12 10 2.0 2.5 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 USC 12 48 24 24 5.5 7.5 0 0 — 0 2 2 1 0 1 2022 USC 14 46 31 15 13.5 22.0 0 0 — 0 3 2 0 0 0 Career 32 116 67 49 21.0 32.0 0 0 — 0 5 4 1 0 1
Personal life Tuipulotu's older brother, Marlon Tuipulotu, also played defensive tackle at USC and currently plays in the National Football League for the New York Giants. He is also a cousin of former USC and current Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga.
He is of Tongan descent.
References
External links
Los Angeles Chargers bio USC Trojans bio