Sione Po'uha

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Sione Po'uha
No. 91 – BYU Cougars
Position:Defensive tackles coach
Personal information
Born: (1979-02-03) February 3, 1979 (age 45)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:325 lb (147 kg)
Career information
High school:Salt Lake City (UT) East
College:Utah
NFL draft:2005 / round: 3 / pick: 88
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
  • Utah (2015–2016)
    Student-assistant coach
  • Utah (2017)
    Director of football player development
  • Navy (2018)
    Defensive tackles coach
  • Utah (2019–2021)
    Defensive line coach
  • BYU (2023–present)
    Defensive tackles coach
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:263
Sacks:4.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Sione Sonasi "Bo" Po'uha[1] (/siˈoʊni boʊˈuːhə/ see-OH-nee boh-OO-hə; born February 3, 1979) is an American football coach and former defensive tackle. On December 20, 2022, Po'uha accepted the position of defensive tackles coach at Brigham Young University. He previously served as the defensive line coach at the University of Utah, for whom he played college football. He is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Early life

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Pouha began playing football at the young age of nine.[1] Pouha attended East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was a two-year first-team all-region player and captained East High's state championship team in 1996. He earned USA Today honorable mention All-American honors as senior in 1996 and was a Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune first-team all-state selection.[2] Pouha signed a letter of intent with Utah in 1997, then left on a Mormon mission to Pittsburgh.[2][3]

College career

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In his senior season at Utah, Pouha earned All-Mountain West Conference first-team honors and was named USA Today All-America honorable mention after starting ten games, recording 36 tackles, four passes defended and one interception, and helped lead Urban Meyer's Utes to the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Pouha had never considered playing beyond the college level; however, during his senior season he changed his mind after receiving a phone call from an agent.[1]

Career

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New York Jets

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2005

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Pouha, who was considered a "project" player,[4] was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft.[5] Pouha appeared in fourteen games as a rookie, recording ten tackles and one pass defended.

2006

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Following his rookie season, Pouha suffered a torn ACL on the fourth day of training camp and was subsequently knocked out for the entire 2006 football year.[3]

2007

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Motivated following his ACL injury which eliminated him for all of 2006,[3][4] Pouha played in all sixteen games during the season, starting one game. Pouha recorded 39 tackles and had one pass defended.

2008

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Pouha once again appeared in all of the team's sixteen matchups, recording 23 tackles, and recorded his first half-sack of his career against New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel.

2009

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Pouha in 2009

Pouha went into the 2009 season as the back-up defensive tackle. Six games into the season, the Jets lost Pro Bowl starter Kris Jenkins who suffered a torn ACL. The injury would thrust Pouha into the spotlight as he became the team's starting nose tackle, starting the team's next thirteen games. Pouha achieved multiple career highs, starting a career-high fourteen games and making a career 61 tackles, 34 of which were solo. Pouha and teammate Mike DeVito helped improve the rushing defense from twenty-first to fourth overall in the NFL.[6][7] Pouha and the team entered the postseason until falling against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship.

2010

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Pouha started the first game of the 2010 season alongside a returning Kris Jenkins. Six plays into the team's Monday night home opener against the Baltimore Ravens, Jenkins once again suffered a season-ending torn ACL.[8] Pouha, again, assumed Jenkins' role as nose tackle alongside teammates Mike DeVito and Howard Green.[8] Pouha was considered to be an excellent run-stopper and, as the season progressed, the team liked to see Pouha more involved in pass-rushing and getting to the quarterback.[8] Pouha and the Jets made the postseason for the second straight year but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship.

2011

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In Week 14 of the 2011 NFL season, Pouha tackled running back Jackie Battle in the end zone for a safety vs the Kansas City Chiefs. The Jets finished 8-8 that year.

2012

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Po'uha was diagnosed with a back strain during the 2012 season and missed some games because of it. The Jets finished with a 6–10 record that season. Po'uha was released by the Jets on March 12, 2013.[9]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2005 NYJ 14 0 9 7 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2007 NYJ 16 1 40 35 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2008 NYJ 16 0 23 16 7 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2009 NYJ 16 14 45 33 12 0.0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2010 NYJ 16 15 59 41 18 2.0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 0
2011 NYJ 16 15 58 41 17 1.0 5 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 0 0
2012 NYJ 12 10 29 20 9 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
106 55 263 193 70 4.5 13 0 0 0 0 11 1 5 2 0

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2009 NYJ 3 3 7 6 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 NYJ 3 3 14 7 7 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 6 21 13 8 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Coaching career

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Po'uha began his coaching career at the University of Utah as a student-assistant coach in 2015 and 2016, followed by being the director of football player development in 2017.[10] In 2018, he became the defensive tackles coach at the United States Naval Academy.[11]

After one season at Navy, he returned to Utah as the defensive line coach for 2019.[10] In early 2022 following the 2022 Rose Bowl Po'uha announced on he would be retiring from coaching. For the 2023 season Po'uha chose to return to coaching after being hired at Brigham Young University (BYU).[12]

Personal

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Pouha was born to Sonasi and Susana Pouha.[6] He married his college sweetheart, Keiti Kaufusi Pouha, while he was still attending the University of Utah.[1] The couple have four children, two sons and two daughters.[6] Pouha's parents were immigrants from Tonga.[8]

Pouha majored in behavior science and health.[6]

Pouha created a beverage business named Bula.[1] Pouha has described the beverage as a "relaxation drink" that is a combination of kava and valerian root.[1] The drink is currently sold online and in stores in northern California.[1] For a time Po'uha served as bishop of the Bountiful 6th Ward, a Tongan-language ward in Utah. He has also served as a seminary and institute teacher in the LDS Church.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Zimmerman, Lisa (October 5, 2010). "A Little Inspiration". TheJetsBlog.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Sione Pouha". Utah Utes. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Bishop, Greg (December 27, 2007). "Spiritual Journey Guides an Imposing Jets Tackle". New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Waszak Jr., Dennis (August 13, 2007). "Reshaped Pouha could make a big impact on Jets' defensive line". USA Today. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  5. ^ "2005 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Sione Pouha". New York Jets. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  7. ^ Cimini, Rich (September 18, 2010). "Examining the Kris Jenkins factor". ESPN New York. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d Vrentas, Jenny (September 17, 2010). "In Kris Jenkins' absence, Jets are hoping DT Sione Pouha is as generous as his Christmas gifts". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  9. ^ Orr, Conor (March 12, 2013). "Santonio Holmes agrees to restructured deal, will remain with Jets, report says". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Ute Football Hires Sione Po'uha". Utah Utes. December 10, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Deseret News, March 29, 2018
  12. ^ "SITAKE ANNOUNCES HIRING OF SIONE PO'UHA ON DEFENSIVE STAFF".
  13. ^ Deseret News March 29, 2018
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