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Isaac Sopoaga

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Isaac Sopoaga
refer to caption
Sopoaga in the 2013 NFL season
No. 90, 97
Position:Nose tackle
Personal information
Born: (1981-09-04) September 4, 1981 (age 43)
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school:Samoana (Utulei, American Samoa)
College:Hawaii
NFL draft:2004 / round: 4 / pick: 104
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-WAC (2002)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:235
Sacks:8.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Isa'ako "Isaac" Sopoaga (pronounced /soʊpoʊˈɑːɡə/ soh-poh-AH-gə; born September 4, 1981) is a former American football nose tackle. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football at Hawaii.

Early life

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Sopoaga attended Samoana High School in Pago Pago, Eastern School District, American Samoa and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a two-time All-League selection and as a senior, he was named the League's Defensive Player of the Year. He played rugby growing up in Samoa.[1] Isaac also attributes his strong throwing arm, reportedly being able to throw the ball 78 yards flat footed, to throwing 1–2 pound rocks at coconuts up to 70 feet high hanging from the trees. He would eventually develop enough strength and accuracy to knock down five or six coconuts in a matter of five minutes according to his own account.[2]

College career

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Sopoaga began his collegiate career at the College of the Canyons. As a freshman, he was suspended for two games after hitting an opposing player.[3] In his sophomore season in 2000, he recorded 31 sacks, which still stands as the single-season record in California community college football. He then decided to sit out the 2001 season to establish residency. Sopoaga was inducted into the College of the Canyons Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.[4]

He then attended the University of Hawaii, where he started his junior and senior years, and collected 128 tackles (70 solos) with four sacks for minus 28 yards, 15 stops for losses of 56 yards, eleven quarterback pressures, a pair of fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and three pass deflections in 25 games with the Warriors.[5]

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Projected to be an early second round selection, Sopoaga was ranked as the No. 4 defensive tackle available in the 2004 NFL draft.[6] As of 2018, Sopoaga is one of only seventeen prospects to repeat more than 40 lifts at the 225-pound (102 kg) bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine since 1999. While he was noted for his "outstanding strength" and quickness off the snap, scouts criticized his tendency to "get tall, which negates his power," as well as his lack of hand technique.[7] Sopoaga was eventually selected in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers. He was the highest selected Hawaii Warriors defensive lineman since Al Noga in 1988.

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+1⁄4 in
(1.89 m) 		317 lb
(144 kg) 		4.97 s 1.75 s 2.92 s 4.66 s 7.79 s 30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m)		 8 ft 3 in
(2.51 m)		 42 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8]

San Francisco 49ers

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Sopoaga was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round (104 overall) in the 2004 NFL draft. Sopoaga missed the entire 2004 season with an injury.[9] In 2008, the 49ers stated that they would use Sopoaga as a defensive end.[10] For the 2010 season, Sopoaga started at left defensive end in the 49ers 3-4 defense.

In the October 17, 2010 game against the Oakland Raiders, Sopoaga lined up as a fullback and successfully blocked for Frank Gore deep in the red zone near the end of the game. The play resulted in a first down which allowed the 49ers who were leading 17 to 9 to run out the clock and win the game. In a Monday press conference following the game 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said that putting Sopoaga in as fullback was an idea he presented to former offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye earlier in 2010. Singletary gave credit to Bill Walsh's playing of guard Guy McIntyre as a fullback rather than Mike Ditka's playing of lineman William "The Fridge" Perry as a fullback on Singletary's Chicago Bears team, since Walsh started the trend and Ditka followed.[11] Prior to the 2011 season the 49ers parted ways with nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, leaving a void at the nose tackle position which was filled by Sopoaga. On October 30, 2011, playing from fullback position, Sopoaga caught a pass for a key first down in the fourth quarter of the 49ers' 20–10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

At the end of the 2012 season, Sopoaga and the 49ers appeared in Super Bowl XLVII. In the game, he had four combined tackles as the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.[12]

Philadelphia Eagles

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Sopoaga signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 12, 2013.[13]

New England Patriots

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On October 29, 2013, Sopoaga was traded to the New England Patriots along with a sixth-round pick for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2014 draft.[14]

Arizona Cardinals

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Soon after working out for the Arizona Cardinals on August 20, 2014, Sopoaga officially signed with them.[15] The Cardinals released Sopoaga on August 30, 2014.[16]

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 SFO 16 1 22 16 6 0.0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2006 SFO 15 2 22 17 5 1.5 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0
2007 SFO 16 5 27 14 13 1.5 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2008 SFO 16 15 40 26 14 1.0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2009 SFO 16 16 29 19 10 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2010 SFO 16 16 25 17 8 1.5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2011 SFO 15 15 31 20 11 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
2012 SFO 15 9 27 21 6 1.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 PHI 8 7 10 7 3 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NE 6 2 2 1 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
139 88 235 158 77 8.5 22 0 0 0 0 10 1 2 0 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
2011 SFO 2 2 3 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 SFO 3 1 7 6 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 3 10 9 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Personal life

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A native of American Samoa, Sopoaga was raised in the village of Fagasa, an isolated fishing community.[17] He is one of nine children (four brothers, four sisters) of Suitupe and Lagiselota Sopoaga.

He owns a second home in Hawaii, where he spends the off-season.[18]

Sopoaga's nephew, Penei Sewell, played college football for the Oregon Ducks and was a highly regarded prospect drafted 7th overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2021 NFL draft.

References

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  1. ^ "Ex-Warrior Sopoaga returns to find peace, strength". Star Advertiser. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  2. ^ "Vernon Davis Reveals The Strongest NFL Players He's Ever Played With In His 14-Year Career". BroBible. October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "Top Cat Sopoaga is a Force for the Cougars". Los Angeles Daily News. September 29, 2000. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  4. ^ College of the Canyons Athletic Hall Of Fame Set To Induct Class of 2011 Archived 2013-06-26 at archive.today
  5. ^ "Isaac Sopoaga, DT, Hawaii". USA Today. May 18, 2005. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "SI.com - 2004 NFL Draft - Breakdown by Position - DT". Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  7. ^ "SI.com - 2004 NFL Draft - Isaac Sopoaga". Archived from the original on September 15, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  8. ^ "Isaac Sopoaga". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  9. ^ "2004 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Sopoaga Ready to Step Up". 49ers. May 11, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Singletary press conference October 18, 2010". Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "Super Bowl XLVII - San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens - February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  13. ^ Eagles sign Isaac Sopoaga, Jason Phillips
  14. ^ Dave Spadaro [@EaglesInsider] (October 29, 2013). "#Eagles get a 5th-round pick from New England for Isaac Sopoaga and a 6th-round pick" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Gantt, Darin (August 20, 2014). "Cardinals find some defensive line depth with Isaac Sopoaga". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  16. ^ "Cardinals Cut To 53". Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  17. ^ "Niners' Sopoaga savors more than a win". San Jose Mercury News. October 5, 2009.
  18. ^ "Ex-Warrior Sopoaga returns to find peace, strength". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 1, 2010.
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