Recent Sione Vaki Notes
Recent Sione Vaki Features
2024 Detroit Lions Draft
2024 NFL Draft: But wait, there's more!
New York Giants
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Sione Vaki
SS, OLB/ST
· Utah
VAKI QUICK HITS
- 26 career games as a Ute with 17 starts.
- 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl invitee.
- 2023 finalist for both Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and the Paul Hornung Award.
- 2023 All-America (Sports Illustrated Second Team All-Purpose; Sporting News Second Team All-Purpose; Phil Steele Third Team)
- 2023 Pac-12 All-Conference (Coaches First Team safety/all-purpose; AP Second Team safety; Phil Steele Second Team safety)
- Primarily has played safety, also seeing time on offense in seven games during 2023.
2023: Made 12 starts at safety, while also seeing time at running back and out of the wildcat during seven games.
- Three-time selection to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll (Cal, USC, Washington) after excelling both at safety and running back.
- Tallied 51 tackles (8.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks) along with an interception and two PBU.
- His 8.5 TFL led the secondary and ranked second on the team.
- Tied for 10th in the Pac-12 with 7.5 TFL coming during conference play.
- On offense, had 42 carries for 317 yards and two touchdowns, also catching 11 passes for 203 yards and three scores.
- Tied a career-high with nine tackles vs. No. 22 UCLA and No. 19 Oregon State, including a career-best 3.5 TFL against the Beavers.
- Contributed both a sack and receiving touchdown during the game at No. 5 Washington, becoming the first Pac-12 player since 2014 to accomplish that feat in the same game.
- Made his first career interception vs. Florida.
- His 158 rushing yards vs. Cal were the highest by a Pac-12 defensive back in recorded league history. He became the first Utah DB with two rushing touchdowns in a game since Eric Weddle in 2006.
- Ran for a 72-yard touchdown against Cal, among his 15 carries for 158 yards and two scores.
- Vaki’s 53-yard touchdown receptions at No. 18 USC and No. 5 Washington are the longest by a Utah defensive player in recorded history.
2022: Appeared in all 14 games (five starts), seeing time both on defense and special teams.
- Forty-one tackles (3.5 TFL), with one forced fumble and three pass breakups.
- Career-best nine stops (two on third down) came during his first start at Washington State.
- Led the team and matched a game-high with eight stops in the Rose Bowl vs. No. 11 Penn State.
- Posted six tackles (1.0 TFL) and a pair of pass breakups in the Pac-12 Championship vs. No. 4 USC.
- Contributed a career-best 2.0 TFL in the regular season finale at Colorado.
High School: Three-star recruit rated by 247Sports and Rivals, who originally signed with the Utes in 2019 out of Liberty HS.
- Joins the Utes after returning from a two-year church mission.
- Also held receiver and returner roles at Liberty HS.
- Invited to the 2019 Polynesian Bowl.
- Bay Valley Athletic League MVP as a senior in 2018.
- All-BVAL selection on both offense and defense as a senior.
- Second-team all-metro as a junior.
- Third-team all-Bay Area News Group and Cal-Hi Sports Junior All-State in 2017.
- Recorded 73 tackles (1.0 TFL), four interceptions (1 TD), two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior in 2018.
- 1,684 all-purpose yards as a senior included 111 kick return (1 TD), 96 punt return, 75 interception return and 43 rushing (1 TD).
- 65 receptions for 1,359 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2018, averaging 104.5 yards per game and 20.9 yards per catch.
- Part of the 2018 Liberty BVAL championship squad that finished second in California in the open division.
- 45 tackles, an interception returned 47 yards for a touchdown and two fumble recoveries as a junior in 2017.
- As a junior, 1,214 all-purpose yards included 809 receiving (12 TD) and 358 rushing (6 TD), helping Liberty to the 2017 CIF North Coast Section Division I state title.
- Played at Antioch HS as a sophomore and recorded 14 tackles (2.0 sacks) and 146 receiving yards.
Personal: Son of Piuleini Vaki and the late Oto’ota Vaki.
2022
defensive | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TFL | QB HUR | TOT | TD | PD | SACKS | SOLO |
2.5 | 0.0 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 22.0 |
Physical Attributes:
Proj Rd: | -- |
Height: | 6-0 |
Weight: | 208 |
Forty: | 4.62 |
Arm: | -- |
Hand: | -- |
Wingspan: | -- |
Pro Day Results:
Cone: | -- |
Bench: | -- |
Shuttle: | -- |
10: | -- |
20: | -- |
40: | -- |
BJ: | -- |
VJ: | -- |
Combine Results:
Cone: | -- |
Bench: | -- |
Shuttle: | -- |
10: | -- |
20: | -- |
40: | -- |
BJ: | -- |
VJ: | -- |