Star Lotulelei

Starlite Lotulelei Jr. (born December 20, 1989) is a Tongan former professional American football defensive tackle.

Utah had not seen one of their defensive linemen selected in the first round since Luther Elliss went 20th overall to the Detroit Lions in 1995.

Lotulelei's rare combination of power, snap count anticipation, instincts, quickness, and athleticism frequently drew parallels to Haloti Ngata.

Playing defensive lineman at 240 pounds, he helped the football team to a 14–0 record and a state title in 2006.

Lotulelei registered 72 tackles and seven sacks as a senior.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Lotulelei was listed as the No. 3 overall prospect from Utah.

However, he was overshadowed by Oregon-bound Simione Fili of Cottonwood High School, who was labeled the best defensive lineman from Utah since Haloti Ngata, but eventually bounced around between junior colleges before falling into obscurity and finally becoming a strongman competitor.

Lotulelei, too, failed to qualify academically for his original school of choice, Brigham Young University.

He eventually spent what would have been his freshman season delivering furniture for a store in Salt Lake City.

After a year, he enrolled at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

Now far over 300 pounds, Lotulelei played defensive line for the Badgers alongside James Aiono, and recorded 52 tackles with 14 TFL, three sacks and one forced fumble in 2008.

Snow College reached the 2008 NJCAA National Championship Game, but lost 37–30 in double-overtime to Butler Community College.

Lotulelei took the 2009 season off to preserve another year of college eligibility.

He was still recruited by BYU, but also Oregon State, Utah State, and Utah.

"The Utah coaches came down to Snow a couple of times," Lotulelei said.

"They showed me they really wanted me. It showed me they really cared. So coming here wasn't that hard of a choice."

In 2010, Lotulelei transferred to the University of Utah, and played in all 13 games for the Utah Utes football team, and became a starter for the final three games of the season.

He totaled 21 tackles with 2.5 tackles for a loss, and also was credited for a half quarterback sack, which came against San Jose State in arguably his best game of the season (season-high five tackles).

Lotulelei also made several appearances at offensive guard.

A regular starter in 2011, Lotulelei was an All-Pac-12 Conference performer and won the Morris Trophy as the league's best defensive lineman.

He started all 13 games, and registered 44 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

His 9.0 tackles for loss tied sophomore linebacker Trevor Reilly for second on the team.

In a 14–31 loss against Washington, Lotulelei had six tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss.

A week later he had five tackles in a 14–35 loss against Arizona State.

Against California, Lotulelei surprised with a 17-yard reception on a fake punt play.

Utah finished the regular season 7–5 and played Georgia Tech in the 2011 Sun Bowl.

Lotulelei made six tackles and recovered a fumble and was awarded the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Trophy for the Most Valuable Lineman.

Lotulelei returned to the University of Utah for his senior year, and started in all 12 games at nose tackle.

He recorded 42 tackles included a team-high 11 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks, while also having four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

A season-high seven tackles plus two pass breakup came early in the season in a 24–21 win against the school to which he had previously committed, Brigham Young.

Lotulelei blocked a 51-yard field goal attempt with 1 second remaining following a third-down incompletion.

Two weeks later, Lotulelei had a heralded performance against All-Pac-12 center Khaled Holmes of the USC Trojans in a 28–38 loss for the Utes.

Forgoing the chance of a professional career in 2012, Lotulelei decided to return to Utah after the 2011 season.

In preseason mock drafts from May 2012, Lotulelei was listed as a late first-rounder for the 2013 NFL Draft as well.

By mid-season, he had moved up to a top-3 spot.

After the season concluded, Lotulelei was still projected to be picked among the first five selections.

He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

He played college football at University of Utah, and shared the Morris Trophy for the best lineman in the Pac-12 Conference.

A native of Tonga, Lotulelei attended Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah.

Lotulelei was declared ineligible to participate in the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine after an echocardiogram revealed an abnormally low ejection fraction.