- Source: Talanoa Hufanga
Talanoa Hufanga ( TALL-uh-NOH-uh hoo-FUNG-uh; born February 1, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Early life
Hufanga attended Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. He played safety, wide receiver, and quarterback. As a senior in 2017, he was the Polynesian High School National Player of the Year. He played in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Game. Hufanga committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football.
College career
As a true freshman at USC in 2018, Hufanga played in eight games with five starts before suffering a season-ending broken collarbone. He finished the season with 51 tackles. As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 10 games he played in and recorded 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Hufanga returned to USC as a starter his junior year in 2020. He and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson were selected as co-recipients of the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award. For the 2020 season, Hufanga was a Consensus All-American. In addition, he won Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
= College statistics
=Professional career
Hufanga was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round, 180th overall, of the 2021 NFL draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021.
During his rookie campaign, Hufanga appeared in 15 games and made three starts. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers, he recovered and returned a blocked punt for a critical touchdown which eventually set up a 13–10 victory for the 49ers.
In Week 4 of the 2022 season, against the Los Angeles Rams, he had 52-yard pick six in the 24–9 victory. He started in all 17 regular season games and all three playoff games for the 49ers in the 2022 season. He had 97 total tackles, four interceptions, nine passes defended, and two forced fumbles. He earned a Pro Bowl nomination and first team All-Pro honors. He was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
In Week 11 of the 2023 season, Hufanga suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve on November 21, 2023. He finished the 2023 season with ten appearances, all of them being starts. Without Hufanga, the 49ers reached Super Bowl LVIII but lost 25–22 to the Kansas City Chiefs. On December 7, 2024, Hufanga was activated from injured reserve.
NFL career statistics
= Regular season
=Personal life
Hufanga is of Tongan descent. He is the son of Tevita and Tanya Hufanga and has a brother named TJ. Hufanga also trains with Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.
He is the cousin of Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu.
References
External links
Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference
San Francisco 49ers bio
USC Trojans bio