CAREER: He has 65 tackles, including 11 for losses of 47 yards (with 7.5 sacks for minus 39 yards), plus a
deflection, a fumble recovery for a TD and a blocked field goal in his career. He has appeared in 25 games in his career,
with 18 starts.
2020: Tufele opted out of his 202 junior season to prepare for the NFL Draft.
2019: Tufele once again made an impact at defensive tackle as a sophomore in 2019. Overall in 2019 while starting all 13 games, he had 41 tackles, including 6.5 for losses of 28 yards (with 4.5 sacks for minus 22 yards), plus a deflection. He made the 2019 Phil Steele All-American honorable mention, All-Pac-12 first team, AP All-Pac-12 second team and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 first team. He repeated as USC’s Defensive Lineman of the Year.
He had 4 tackles against Fresno State, 6 tackles with a sack against Stanford, 3 tackles (with 0.5 for loss) at BYU and 2 tackles against Utah. Two of 4 tackles were for losses (with a sack) at Washington, then he had a tackle at Notre Dame, 2 tackles (0.5 sack) and a deflection against Arizona, 3 tackles at Colorado, 5 tackles (with a sack) against Oregon, 2 tackles at Arizona State, 2 tackles (with a sack) at California, 4 tackles (0.5 for a loss) against UCLA and 3 tackles against Iowa.
2018: Tufele saw significant action on the defensive line as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and made a mark. Overall in 2018 while appearing in all 12 games and starting 5 times (UNLV, Washington State, Utah, Oregon State, California), he had 23 tackles, including 4.5 for losses of 19 yards (with 3 sacks for minus 17 yards), plus a blocked field goal and a fumble recovery for a TD. He made 2018 The Athletic Freshman All-American first team, All-Pac-12 second team, Phil Steele All-Pac-12 second team and Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year honorable mention. He won USC’s Defensive Lineman of the Year Award.
He had a sack against UNLV and 2 tackles at Stanford. He had 3 tackles and blocked a late potential game-tying field goal against Washington State to earn Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week. He had 2 tackles at Arizona, 3 tackles (1 for a loss) against Colorado and a tackle and returned a fumble 48 yards for a TD at Utah (making him a nominee for the 2018 Piesman Trophy for most impressive play by a lineman). He had 3 tackles (0.5 for loss) against Arizona State, 5 tackles (with 2 sacks) at Oregon State, 2 tackles against California and a tackle against Notre Dame.
2017: Tufele redshirted as a first-year freshman defensive lineman at USC in 2017. He won USC’s Co-Defensive Service Team Player of the Year Award.
HIGH SCHOOL: He made 2016 Prep Star All-American Dream Team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 and Orange County Register Fab 15 first team as a senior defensive tackle at Bingham High in South Jordan (Utah). He did not see action in 2016 because of a torn ligament in his foot. Bingham won the state 5A title in 2016.
As a junior in 2015, he was Salt Lake Tribune MVP while making 57 tackles and 10.5 sacks. As a 2014 sophomore, he made Max Preps Sophomore All-American first team while getting 63 tackles and 6 sacks.
He also played rugby.
PERSONAL:Â He is a sociology major at USC.
