Recent from talks
Laiatu Latu
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Laiatu Latu
Laiatu Latu (ly-AH-too LAH-too; born December 31, 2000) is an American professional football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won the Ted Hendricks and Lombardi Awards with the latter in 2023. Latu was selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Latu was born on December 31, 2000, in Sacramento, California, later attending Jesuit High School. As a junior he earned accolades playing both ways — as a tight end on offense and an outside linebacker on defense, also making significant contributions as a member of Jesuit's special teams. Marauders head coach Marion Blanton characterized Latu as a "solid young man" who was "very coachable." "His motor is always going," Blanton noted.
Latu was named first team All-California after recording 94 total tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks as a senior. Standing 6'5" and weighing 245 pounds as a senior, Latu was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Washington over offers from UCLA, USC, Oregon, Stanford, and Alabama.
Latu began his college career with the Washington Huskies in the fall of 2019. He played in 12 games as a freshman and finished the season with 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Latu suffered a neck injury during fall practices entering his 2020 sophomore year. He did not appear in any of Washington's four games played during the COVID pandemic-shortened season. He underwent surgery on his neck in March 2021 in an attempt to alleviate his nerve issue.
Washington's team doctors deemed that Latu's injury had not recovered sufficiently for him to continue playing football. Huskies' head coach Jimmy Lake announced that Latu had been forced by injury to retire for medical reasons at the start of spring practices in 2021.
"We consulted I believe about five of the best specialists in the country," Lake told the press. "We exhausted every professional we could think of to make sure this was the proper decision.... It was a tough decision to make for sure, but it's for the safety of our players first and foremost. We never want to put anybody in danger of possibly not being able to use his extremities the rest of his life."
Latu was thus forced out of football for 2021. Latu sought to continue his career as a player, however, and spent the next four months attempting to gain medical clearance to play elsewhere and searching for a college program that would take a chance on him given his previous injury.
With the assistance of his position coach at Washington, Latu sought multiple additional medical opinions from around the country, including one from Dr. Robert Watkins of Marina del Rey, California. In September 2021, Latu traveled to California to be examined by Watkins, who subsequently gave him medical clearance to play football again.
Hub AI
Laiatu Latu AI simulator
(@Laiatu Latu_simulator)
Laiatu Latu
Laiatu Latu (ly-AH-too LAH-too; born December 31, 2000) is an American professional football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won the Ted Hendricks and Lombardi Awards with the latter in 2023. Latu was selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Latu was born on December 31, 2000, in Sacramento, California, later attending Jesuit High School. As a junior he earned accolades playing both ways — as a tight end on offense and an outside linebacker on defense, also making significant contributions as a member of Jesuit's special teams. Marauders head coach Marion Blanton characterized Latu as a "solid young man" who was "very coachable." "His motor is always going," Blanton noted.
Latu was named first team All-California after recording 94 total tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks as a senior. Standing 6'5" and weighing 245 pounds as a senior, Latu was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Washington over offers from UCLA, USC, Oregon, Stanford, and Alabama.
Latu began his college career with the Washington Huskies in the fall of 2019. He played in 12 games as a freshman and finished the season with 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Latu suffered a neck injury during fall practices entering his 2020 sophomore year. He did not appear in any of Washington's four games played during the COVID pandemic-shortened season. He underwent surgery on his neck in March 2021 in an attempt to alleviate his nerve issue.
Washington's team doctors deemed that Latu's injury had not recovered sufficiently for him to continue playing football. Huskies' head coach Jimmy Lake announced that Latu had been forced by injury to retire for medical reasons at the start of spring practices in 2021.
"We consulted I believe about five of the best specialists in the country," Lake told the press. "We exhausted every professional we could think of to make sure this was the proper decision.... It was a tough decision to make for sure, but it's for the safety of our players first and foremost. We never want to put anybody in danger of possibly not being able to use his extremities the rest of his life."
Latu was thus forced out of football for 2021. Latu sought to continue his career as a player, however, and spent the next four months attempting to gain medical clearance to play elsewhere and searching for a college program that would take a chance on him given his previous injury.
With the assistance of his position coach at Washington, Latu sought multiple additional medical opinions from around the country, including one from Dr. Robert Watkins of Marina del Rey, California. In September 2021, Latu traveled to California to be examined by Watkins, who subsequently gave him medical clearance to play football again.