Anton Charles Palepoi (born January 19, 1978) is an American Samoan former professional player of

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the UNLV Rebels. Selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2002 NFL draft, he played for the team from 2002 to 2004.

Early years

Palepoi attended high school at Hunter High School in West Valley City, Utah, where he played basketball and football for the Wolverines. Taking the junior college route, he went on to attend Dixie College, where he was named Western States Football League Most Valuable Player in 1999 after leading the Red Storm to an appearance in the junior college national championship game. Recruited by Ken Niumatalolo, he chose Nevada–Las Vegas over

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. Palepoi was an All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

selection in both of his years at UNLV, despite having his senior season cut short to only six games.

Professional career

Despite being projected as an undrafted free agent, Palepoi was selected in the second round, 60th overall, by the Seattle Seahawks. He was the highest selected player from UNLV since Ickey Woods in 1988. He played for the Seattle Seahawks,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, before signing with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in May 2007.

Personal

Palepoi was born to Tony and Tutaga Palepoi, both

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

graduates. His father played for the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perf ...

. His younger brother Tenny Palepoi was a defensive lineman for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. Also had a small appearance in the movie '' Wish Upon a Star'' starring

Katherine Heigl Katherine Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and model. She portrayed Izzie Stevens, Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that b ...

which was filmed at Hunter High School.

References

External links

UNLV Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palepoi, Anton 1978 births Living people American football defensive ends UNLV Rebels football players Seattle Seahawks players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players New Orleans Saints players People from West Valley City, Utah Sportspeople from Salt Lake County, Utah Players of American football from American Samoa American sportspeople of Samoan descent 20th-century American sportsmen Pacific Islander American players of American football