Utah State University Athletics

HONORS
Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (2023).

CAREER RECORDS
Played in 58 games during his Utah State career, which ranks second all-time in school history, while his 40 career starts are tied for the seventh-most.

2023 (SENIOR SEASON)
Earned honorable mention all-Mountain West honors as he started all 12 games he played in... Missed one game due to injury… Finished the season with 32 tackles (14-solo, 18-assist), which included 3.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, to go along with four quarterback hurries... Was third on the team in sacks and first on the team among defensive tackles in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks… Had a season-high six tackles at San José State (10/21), including 0.5 tackles for loss... Had a season-high 1.0 sacks and a career-high-tying 2.5 tackles for loss as part of his three total tackles in USU’s 44-41 double overtime win at New Mexico (11/24)... Had five tackles, including 1.0 sacks, against Nevada (11/11)... Added four tackles against both Air Force (9/15) and Fresno State (10/13)... Also had 1.0 sacks against the Bulldogs... Had three tackles and a career-best four quarterback hurries against Colorado State (10/7)… Added 0.5 tackles for loss against Boise State (11/18)... Had multiple tackles in eight of the 12 games he played in.

2022 (JUNIOR SEASON)
Started all 12 games that he played in… Missed one game due to injury… Finished the season with 35 tackles (15-solo, 20-assist), which included 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss, to go along with one quarterback hurry… Was second on the team in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss, including ranking first on the team among defensive tackles in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks… Had a career-high seven tackles, including a career-best 2.0 sacks and a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss, against UNLV (9/24)… Tied his career highs with 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss as part of his five total tackles against San José State (11/19)… Had 1.0 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss as part of his three stops against Memphis (12/27) in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl… Added 0.5 tackles for loss against UConn (8/27), New Mexico (11/5) and Boise State (11/25)… Had multiple tackles in nine of the 12 games he played in.  

2021 (SOPHOMORE SEASON)
Started all 14 games and finished the season with 26 tackles (10-solo, 16-assist), which included 2.5 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss… Had a season-high-tying four tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss, against North Dakota (9/10)… Had a season-high 1.5 sacks as part of his two total tackles against Hawai’i (10/30)… Had 1.0 sacks against Oregon State (12/18) in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl… Added 1.0 tackles for loss at San José State (11/13) and at New Mexico (11/26), and 0.5 tackles for loss at Washington State (9/4), against No. 13 BYU (10/1) and at No. 19 San Diego State (12/4) in the Mountain West Championship Game.

2020 (COVID SEASON)
Played in all six games, making two starts… Finished the season with eight tackles (2-solo, 6-assist), to go along with a blocked kick and a quarterback hurry… Had a season-high four tackles against Air Force (12/3) and had three stops against San Diego State (10/31)… Blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt against the Aztecs, for his first-career blocked kick… His quarterback hurry was against Fresno State (11/14).

2019 (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON)
Played in 12 games and finished the season with 13 tackles (5-solo, 8-assist), which included 0.5 tackles for loss, to go along with one quarterback hurry… Had a season-high three tackles against Stony Brook (9/7) and tied his season high with three tackles against No. 20 Boise State (11/23)… Had 0.5 tackles for loss, to go along with a quarterback hurry, against BYU (11/2)… Started the season by recording two tackles at Wake Forest (8/30).

2018 (REDSHIRT SEASON)
Redshirted the season as he played against both Hawai’i (11/3) and San José State (11/10), but did not record any stats.

HIGH SCHOOL
Earned first-team all-Interscholastic League of Honolulu honors along the defensive line as both a junior and senior at Punahou High School in Honolulu... Was tabbed the No. 9-rated prospect in Hawaii for the 2018 class per the 247Sports.com rankings… Helped lead Punahou HS to a 5-3 record as a senior, including winning a season-high four-straight games, as he recorded 25 tackles, which included 3.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss in just six games… The Buffanblu posted one shutout, recording three turnovers and four sacks, while limiting Kamehameha HS to just 148 yards of total offense, in a 21-0 win over the Warriors… Prior to his high school days, he was a seven-time world fireknife champion in the junior division.

PERSONAL
One of seven children of Sione and Lisa Motu’apuaka... Wife’s name is Maile and the couple has a son, Mafi... His brother, Sione, is an offensive lineman at USU... Graduated from Utah State in the summer of 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies... A three-time (2018, 2021, 2022) World Fireknife Competition Men’s Division Championship... Name is pronounced Huh-lay Mow-too-uh-poo-uh-kuh.