USC's Tuli Tuipulotu Picked In Second Round of 2023 NFL Draft By Los Angeles Chargers

LOS ANGELES — USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers as the 23rd pick of the second round (54th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Tuipulotu is USC's 521st all-time NFL draftee. USC is second behind Notre Dame's 524 for most NFL draft picks produced.

He becomes the 13th USC defensive lineman drafted since 2008 (Sedrick Ellis and Lawrence Jackson in 2008, Fili Moala and Kyle Moore in 2009, Everson Griffen in 2010, Tyrone Smith and Jurrell Casey in 2011, Leonard Williams in 20015, Stevie Tu'ikolovatu in 2017, Rasheem Green in 2018, and Jay Tufele and Tuli's brother, Marlon Tuipulotu, in 20121).

He is the first Trojan picked by the Chargers since linebacker Uchenna Nwosu was selected in the second round with the No. 48 overall pick in 2018.

Tuipulotu was a dominant force in the Trojan trenches. In his career, he had 116 tackles, including 32 for losses (with 13.5 sacks), 5 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles and 1 scoop and score. He appeared in 32 games with 30 starts.
He was a unanimous First Team All-American in 2022. Players become unanimous All-Americans by earning first team from all five officially recognized teams: FWAA, Walter Camp, AFCA, AP and Sporting News. USC now has 29 total unanimous All-Americans (quarterback Caleb Williams was also a unanimous First Team All-American in 2022). The last Trojan to be a unanimous All-American was Marqise Lee in 2012.

Tuipulotu, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, was the nation's leading sack man with 13.5 on the season. He also finished the season as the Pac-12 leader and was second nationally with 22.0 tackles for loss per game on the year.

Tuipulotu's 13.5 sacks are the most in a single season at USC since Kenechi Udeze set the Trojans' record with 16.5 in 2003. In 2022, Tuipulotu recorded 46 tackles, 31 of them solo. He tallied 3 pass breakups at the line, 2 quarterback hurries – one of which turned into an intentional grounding penalty for a safety against Colorado – and collected forced 2 fumbles.

He won the 2022 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and the defensive Morris Trophy. Tuipulotu was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Rotary Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Nagurski Trophy and the Ted Hendricks Award. He was also named to a variety of other All-American First Teams including CBS Sports, The Athletic and Phil Steele. He also earned placement on the 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team, the AP All-Pac-12 First Team and the Phil Steele All-Pac12 First Team.

In 2021, Tuipulotu made the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Phil Steele All-Pac-12 First Team as he tallied 48 tackles with 7.5 for loss, including 5.5 sacks. He also recorded 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery the resulted in a touchdown.

In 2020, Tuipulotu collected 22 tackles, with 2.5 for loss, including 2 sacks.

On Thursday (April 27), USC wide receiver Jordan Addison was selected in the first round as the No. 23 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, the 85^th Trojan first rounder ever (second most of any school). A USC player has been drafted every year since 1939.

The 2023 NFL Draft concludes with the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday (April 29).

Players Mentioned

Jordan Addison

Tuli Tuipulotu

Caleb Williams