7th Round #1: Fui Vakapuna

[SoCalCoug]

None of you seem to remember but we talked about this guy for weeks. This is my boy, the Samoan with the nearly unpronouncable name. Vakapuna was Tahi's replacement at BYU, the guy described by nearly everyone as his virtual clone. He's a RB who grew too big for the position, but he can block and he's a very soft handed reciever.

I'm all about the Vakapuna.

I recall vividly the conversation that took place in regards to this kid and remember the Bengals coaches saying how much he impressed them.

Nice call there Hair !!!

BYU fan here, just checking out the fan sites for our 2 draftees. Fui's a high-energy, extremely physical back. I think you guys are going to like him if he is able to stick around. He started out as a tailback and actually did well. His move to tailback came following an injury after his sophomore year, I believe. I think as part of his rehab, he added a lot of bulk (muscle, not fat). In fact, it was because of his injury that our current starting RB, Harvey Unga, was pressed into duty and as a result nailed down the job for as long as he's there.

Fui was still affected by his injury his junior year, and didn't have great stats. He was going to be the backup RB this year, but we lost the starting FB (Manase Tonga) to academic issues for 2008, and Fui was asked to take over as starting FB.

He's a monster as a blocker. When you go back and look at BYU highlights this past year (and some last year) you can see him just blowing up guys as a lead blocker. I remember one where he just flattened two guys consecutively on one play. I think the consensus was that if he was going to make a place in the NFL, it would be as a fullback. In fact, one of the criticisms I'd hear about him when he was a tailback was that he seemed to try to run over people too much instead of going around them. I think he's also going to be a good contributor on special teams.

He's really improved his hands, and he definitely can run with the ball, as well. Watching him his sophomore year, it seemed like if we were 10-11 yards out and wanted a score, give it to Fui, and he'd make it in. In fact, he had 8 TD's that year, while our 1,000 yard senior rusher only had 7.

One more thing I recall is that he redshirted as a true freshman and played on the scout team. The defensive coordinator complained about Fui playing too hard on the scout team - he was worried the defensive starters were going to get injured.

By the way, I am surprised Tahi has lasted this long in the NFL - I always thought Fui was a better back than Tahi. Tahi's strength was knowing the blocking scheme. Fui's is his pure physicality.

This video made the rounds a couple of years ago:

Fui's the one in the orange & yellow striped lava lava. Many of the other guys doing the haka with him are linemen. You can get a little idea of how big he really is.

Just thought you guys would like a little background about Fui.

[HairOnFire]

Just thought you guys would like a little background about Fui.

Much appreciated. I'm already a big fan of the kid and have written about him on numerous occasions, but I also understand he's not a lock to make the final roster. That said, guys like Fui are very easy to pull for and many of us will cross our fingers in the hope that he can push aside past starter Jeremy Johnson, a guy who always seems to have weight and conditioning issues.

[HAPPYJAQ]

None of you seem to remember but we talked about this guy for weeks. This is my boy, the Samoan with the nearly unpronouncable name. Vakapuna was Tahi's replacement at BYU, the guy described by nearly everyone as his virtual clone. He's a RB who grew too big for the position, but he can block and he's a very soft handed reciever.

I'm all about the Vakapuna.

I recall vividly the conversation that took place in regards to this kid and remember the Bengals coaches saying how much he impressed them.

Nice call there Hair !!!

BYU fan here, just checking out the fan sites for our 2 draftees. Fui's a high-energy, extremely physical back. I think you guys are going to like him if he is able to stick around. He started out as a tailback and actually did well. His move to tailback came following an injury after his sophomore year, I believe. I think as part of his rehab, he added a lot of bulk (muscle, not fat). In fact, it was because of his injury that our current starting RB, Harvey Unga, was pressed into duty and as a result nailed down the job for as long as he's there.

Fui was still affected by his injury his junior year, and didn't have great stats. He was going to be the backup RB this year, but we lost the starting FB (Manase Tonga) to academic issues for 2008, and Fui was asked to take over as starting FB.

He's a monster as a blocker. When you go back and look at BYU highlights this past year (and some last year) you can see him just blowing up guys as a lead blocker. I remember one where he just flattened two guys consecutively on one play. I think the consensus was that if he was going to make a place in the NFL, it would be as a fullback. In fact, one of the criticisms I'd hear about him when he was a tailback was that he seemed to try to run over people too much instead of going around them. I think he's also going to be a good contributor on special teams.

He's really improved his hands, and he definitely can run with the ball, as well. Watching him his sophomore year, it seemed like if we were 10-11 yards out and wanted a score, give it to Fui, and he'd make it in. In fact, he had 8 TD's that year, while our 1,000 yard senior rusher only had 7.

One more thing I recall is that he redshirted as a true freshman and played on the scout team. The defensive coordinator complained about Fui playing too hard on the scout team - he was worried the defensive starters were going to get injured.

By the way, I am surprised Tahi has lasted this long in the NFL - I always thought Fui was a better back than Tahi. Tahi's strength was knowing the blocking scheme. Fui's is his pure physicality.

This video made the rounds a couple of years ago:

Fui's the one in the orange & yellow striped lava lava. Many of the other guys doing the haka with him are linemen. You can get a little idea of how big he really is.

Just thought you guys would like a little background about Fui.

Thanks for the awesome insight and welcome to the board.