Cade Uluave (born May 2, 2005) is an American football linebacker for the California Golden Bears. He was named the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2023.
Uluave was born on May 2, 2005 , and grew up in South Jordan, Utah.[1] His father was also a college football linebacker at Southern Utah University. Cade comes from Tongan Heritage .[2] He attended Mountain Ridge High School and played football, baseball and track and field.[2] In football, he was a two-way player as a linebacker and running back, running for 1,638 yards and 26 touchdowns while totaling 154 tackles and five sacks in his high school career.[1][2][3] Ranked a three-star recruit, the 11th-best player in the state and the 72nd-best linebacker nationally by 247Sports, Uluave committed to play college football for the California Golden Bears.[4][5]
Uluave expected to see action on special teams as a true freshman at California in 2023, but after an injury to Jackson Sirmon he began to see extensive playing time on defense.[2] He received Pac-12 Conference player of the week honors several times and finished the season with 13 games played, six as a starter.[1][6][7] He was the leader in the conference among freshmen in tackles and tackles-for-loss (TFLs), totaling 66 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries en route to being named the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.[8][9] He was selected third-team all-conference by Phil Steele and was named a freshman All-American.[10]
