Mike Iupati

It was the first time the 49ers used a first round pick on an interior offensive lineman since selecting Forrest Blue 15th overall in 1968.

He was the first Idaho Vandal to receive All-American honors since John Yarno in 1976 and the first All-American from the WAC since Ryan Clady in 2007.

Michael Iupati (born May 12, 1987) is a Samoan-American former professional football player who was a guard for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

A native of American Samoa, Iupati went to high school in southern California, played college football for the Idaho Vandals, and earned consensus All-American honors.

He helped the Vandals record their first winning season since 1999, and their first bowl game win since 1998, as they beat the Bowling Green Falcons 43–42 in the Humanitarian Bowl.

On November 24, Iupati was named one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, alongside Russell Okung and winner Ndamukong Suh.

Iupati was a consensus All-American and also named first-team All-WAC.

According to Sports Illustrated's Tony Pauline, Iupati was "the highest-rated guard since Steve Hutchinson," whom the Seattle Seahawks selected with the 17th pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.

To prepare for the NFL Combine, Iupati relocated to Irvine and worked with former NFL lineman Jackie Slater at least four days a week, at both guard and tackle.

Not having a high enough SAT score or sufficient grades, Iupati was planning to attend junior college until Johnny Nansen saw him in 2005, at a junior college's barbecue hosted for potential recruits.

Nansen, then an assistant at Idaho under head coach Nick Holt, offered him a spot with the Vandals the next day and spent considerable time trying to convince Iupati and his family that the Western Athletic Conference university on the Palouse was a better choice than junior college.

Because of academic problems, he was ineligible to play as a true freshman in 2005 and therefore unable to receive a scholarship or financial aid.

His family took out a loan to pay non-resident tuition and room and board for his first year.

Iupati attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, and played for the Vandals from 2006 through 2009.

He joined the Vandals football team in 2006, seeing action in a backup role as a redshirt freshman under head coach Dennis Erickson.

As a sophomore in 2007, he started all 12 games at left guard, and became an impact player on the line for the struggling Vandals, under first-year head coach Robb Akey.

Iupati had off-season shoulder surgery, and did not return to the lineup until the third game of the 2008 season.

He went on to start in 8 of the 10 games in which he played.

He earned second-team All-WAC recognition in his junior year.

As a senior in 2009, Iupati was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award.

He was listed at No. 9 on Rivals.com's preseason interior lineman power ranking.

Iupati started all twelve games in 2009 at left guard, played 807 snaps with 49 knockdowns and 21 pancake blocks.

He did not allow a quarterback sack and just five defensive players he has blocked have even pressured quarterbacks Nathan Enderle or Brian Reader.

Iupati was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

He played five seasons with the 49ers, four with the Arizona Cardinals, and two with the Seattle Seahawks.

Born and raised in Vaitogi, American Samoa, Iupati's family moved to Garden Grove, California, after he finished junior high school.

He is the son of Aposetolo, a former mechanic at Los Angeles International Airport, and Belinda Iupati.

He attended Western High School in Anaheim, where he began playing football under the guidance of Odell Harrington, the school's half-Samoan football coach.

His first chances to play came in his sophomore year, when senior Fili Moala injured his foot two games into the season.

Playing lineman on both sides of the ball, Iupati received all-state and all-conference honors and served as a team captain.

As a junior, he had 80 tackles and 12 sacks, and earned a first-team All-CIF selection.

Iupati also competed in wrestling and track & field (52 ft in the shot put).

Considered only a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, Iupati was not ranked among the best offensive lineman prospects in the nation.

Only a few schools offered him scholarships, among them Arizona and Texas–El Paso.

However, those schools backed off because of Iupati's poor academic record, caused by a language barrier (English is his second language).

Iupati was considered one of the best offensive guard prospects available in the 2010 NFL Draft.

According to several scouts he projected as a late first or early second round selection.

The Sporting News' Russ Lande reported that "nearly every scout who has evaluated Iupati on film says he has the footwork and athleticism to be an NFL left tackle."

Though Iupati only scored a 13 on the Wonderlic intelligence test, it did not stop the San Francisco 49ers from selecting Iupati in the first round with the 17th pick overall.

By the time of the combine, Iupati was ranked as high as 15th best player overall on several draft boards as well as the only guard projected to go in the first two rounds by NFLDraftScout.com.