Introduction
Tyson Asi Alualu (/ɑːluːˈɑːluː/ AH-loo-AH-loo; born May 12, 1987) is an American football defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.
Early years
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Alualu attended and graduated from Saint Louis School in Hawaii in 2005. He was selected to the all-state team twice by the Honolulu Star Bulletin. He was ranked as the No. 2 player in Hawaii and the No. 24 defensive tackle in America by Rivals.com for 2005. He recorded 7 sacks and 59 tackles in high school. During his senior year, he was named the ILH Player of the Year by the Honolulu Advertiser.
College career
Alualu played in all 13 games of his first season, then started all thirteen games of his next three consecutive seasons. He earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in as a junior 2008 and first-team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior in 2009. Following his senior season, Alualu represented Cal at the 2010 Senior Bowl, where he finished the game with a sack, a fumble forced, and a fumble recovered.
Professional career
Originally projected a low-first to early-second round pick, Alualu was drafted as the tenth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, a move that was widely regarded as the biggest surprise of the draft, and according to Mel Kiper, Jr., was "a risky move for taking him this high".
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2¼ in | 295 lb | 4.87 s | 1.67 s | 2.82 s | 4.43 s | 7.15 s | 35½ in | 9 ft 8 in | 21 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
On August 2, 2010, Alualu signed a five-year deal with the Jaguars. The contract includes $17.5 million guaranteed and a total value of roughly $28 million.
2010 season
In the first game of the regular season on September 12, Alualu recorded his first career NFL sack in a 24–17 victory over the Denver Broncos. Over the course of the season Alualu started all 16 games, recording a total of 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Following his rookie year, he was named to All-Rookie teams by National Football Post, Pro Football Weekly and The Sporting News.
2011 season
In 2011, he started all 16 games with 40 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass defended, and a fumble recovery returned for 7 yards.
2012 season
In 2012, he started all 16 games with 45 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 pass defended, and 1 fumble recovery.
2013 season
In May 2013 during organized team activities, head coach Gus Bradley announced that Alualu would move to defensive end.
2014 season
Alualu played all 16 games in 2014 making 30 tackles and 2 sacks.
2015 season
On March 7, 2015, the Jaguars re-signed Alualu to a two-year, $6 million contract. During the 2015 season, he played all 16 games starting 14 of them, making 26 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 passes defended, and a fumble recovery.
NFL stats
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | JAX | 16 | 38 | 29 | 9 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | JAX | 16 | 40 | 21 | 19 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | JAX | 16 | 45 | 34 | 11 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | JAX | 16 | 42 | 33 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | JAX | 16 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | JAX | 16 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Career | 96 | 221 | 148 | 73 | 15.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Personal
Alualu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in the Kuhio Park Terrace neighbourhood of Kalihi. He was one of nine children, with seven sisters and a brother. His father, Ta'avao Alualu went in and out of prison in Alualu's youth, convicted multiple times on assault and drug charges.
Alualu married Desire Pomele in 2005. He had started at California in the summer of that year, but returned home before fall semester classes to get married and to see the birth of his first child, Tyree. He returned to California and enrolled in January 2006. Alualu also has a daughter, Dere'on who was born in 2008.