Samson Kafovalu

Wyoming

Sep 20 (Sat)

TBA

Photo by: Joel Broida

Position:
Defensive Tackle
Height:
6-4
Weight:
295
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Riverside, Calif.
High School:
Arlington

AT COLORADO: Career—His 9½ career quarterback sacks tied for the 39th-most in school history.

2016 (Sr.)—He started all 14 games including the Alamo Bowl, playing 631 snaps on defense in the regular season. He recorded 48 tackles (29 solo, including two-and-a-half quarterback sacks); he had five tackles for zero gains, five third down stops and 10 quarterback hurries. Matched his then career-high with six tackles at No. 4 Michigan, which included his first sack of the season. One week later in a road win at Oregon he set a new season/career-high with seven tackles in the game where he also had a sack. He had six tackles against Washington State (playing in 54 snaps), and he ended the regular season with 59 and 67 snaps, respectively, in games versus No. 21 Utah and No. 4 Washington, his two-highest play counts of the season. In the bowl game against Oklahoma State, he had nine tackles (four solo, two for losses).

2015 (Jr.-RS)—He played in all 13 games, including a pair of starts (against Southern California and at Utah) and was in for 331 snaps from scrimmage. He racked up 33 tackles, 19 of the solo variety, five for losses including three quarterback sacks. He had four third down stops, four pressures and a tackle for zero; his biggest play of the season came at UCLA, when he recovered a fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown, pulling CU to within 28-23 early in the fourth quarter. He had a season-high with six tackles against both Oregon State (five solo) and USC (four unassisted). He rejoined the team for the spring semester, and had bulked up by 15 pounds since he last played in 2013. He had a tremendous spring with 12 tackles (11 solo, three quarterback sacks) in the four main spring scrimmages.

2014 (Jr.)—Redshirted; he was not a member of the team during the fall as he returned to California for the semester. He did not participate in spring drills, taking time to concentrate on his academics.

2013 (Soph.)—He saw action in seven games, including two starts, the latter of which came in the last two games of the year at left defensive end (USC, at Utah). He was in for 184 plays from scrimmage, recording 18 tackles (11 solo), including five for losses, three being quarterback sacks. He also had four third down stops (one of which was on fourth down), two hurries and a chasedown. He posted a season-high six tackles at Utah, when he played his most snaps in game on the year (47; three of the stops were solo, including credit for a half-sack). He added two knockdown blocks on special teams return unit duty. He moved to the outside from tackle during spring drills and had 11 tackles, including five quarterback sacks, in the four main spring scrimmages.

2012 (Fr.)—He first saw action in the third game of the season and played in the final 10 games (four starts) at defensive tackle as a true freshman, with his playing time increasing as the season progressed (249 plays in all). He was in on 20 tackles, 13 of the solo variety (one quarterback sack, three tackles for zero) and had a fumble recovery. He had a season-high five tackles (two solo) against Washington, with four (three solo) against Utah and three (all solo) against Stanford.

HIGH SCHOOL—As a senior, he was ranked as the No. 77 player in the Far West region by SuperPrep, which ranked him the No. 4 defensive end out of the state of California; Scout.com ranked him as the No. 64 defensive end prospect in the nation. In both his junior and senior seasons, he earned recognition as a first-team All-CIF Southern Section Central Division defensive lineman (second-team as a sophomore). A three-year starter and four-year letterman, he was Arlington’s defensive lineman of the year both his junior and senior seasons. For his career, he recorded 127 tackles, four quarterback sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. As a senior, he had 56 tackles (12 solo) and 2½ sacks (for 13 yards in losses). One of his top performances came in a 63-14 win over Vista del Lago as a senior, when he had six tackles and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run on his only career rushing attempt. Other top games as a senior came in a 31-14 loss to La Sierra (nine tackles, one sack) and in a 28-0 loss to Rancho Verde (five tackles, one fumble recovery). Under coach Pat McCarthy, the Lions went 29-15 in his four seasons (5-6 his senior year, 9-3 his junior season, 10-2 his sophomore campaign and 5-6 his freshman year). He played basketball as a freshman, but did not letter and gave the sport up to concentrate on football.

ACADEMICS—He is majoring in Communication at Colorado. He was a solid student as a prep, possessing a 3.3 grade point average in high school.

PERSONAL—He was born February 17, 1994, in Riverside, Calif. His hobbies include playing basketball, playing the bass guitar at his church (his siblings also play instruments there) and helping his family around the house. His older brother, David, is a junior defensive end on the Oregon football team, and a cousin, Calvin Tonga, is a senior defensive tackle for Colorado State. He attended the same high school as former CU tight end David Brown, a member of the 1990 national championship team. (Last name is pronounced KOF-AH-VAH-LOO; his first name in Samoan is actually pronounced Sam-so-nee.)