Jayleen Pea Tufele (born July 25, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

Early life

Tufele attended

Bingham High School Bingham High School is a public high school located in South Jordan, Utah, United States. It is one of eight high schools in the Jordan School District. Teacher/pupil ratios are budgeted at 1 to 27.3, with actual class sizes varying. The school's ...

South Jordan, Utah South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquirrh ...

. As a sophomore in 2014, Tufele started on the varsity team, making 63 tackles and six sacks, which earned him a spot on the

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

Sophomore All-American first-team. As a junior, Tufele anchored a defense that tallied eight shutouts, making 57 tackles and 10.5 sacks on his way to being named the

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

’s high school football MVP. Tufele did not play his senior year due to a torn ligament in his foot. Tufele also played rugby in high school. Tufele was a consensus top-40 recruit and received scholarship offers from over 20 schools, including

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Notre Dame,

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

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 ...

, and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. Tufele announced his commitment to USC on

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a Division II member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

and enrolled in June.

College career

Tufele redshirted the 2017 season. As a redshirt freshman in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Tufele appeared in 12 games, starting five times. He made 23 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks. In a week eight game against

, Tufele returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown, making him a nominee for the 2018 Piesman Trophy, which is awarded for the most impressive play made by a lineman. After the season, he was named to the All-Pac-12 second team, won USC’s Defensive Lineman of the Year award, and was a Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year honorable mention. As a redshirt sophomore in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Tufele started all 13 games and made 41 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, which was the second-most on the team. After the season, Tufele was named to the All-Pac-12 first team, an honorable mention on Phil Steele’s All-American team, and repeated as the Defensive Lineman of the Year for USC.

Statistics

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tufele was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the fourth round, 106th overall, of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. On May 21, 2021, he signed his four-year rookie contract with Jacksonville. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 29, 2021. He was activated on December 4. On August 30, 2022, Tufele was waived by the Jaguars.

Cincinnati Bengals

On August 31, 2022, Tufele was claimed off waivers by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He was listed as the third nose tackle on the depth chart, behind D. J. Reader and

Josh Tupou Joshua Enelangi Tupou (born May 2, 1994) is an American professional football nose tackle. He played college football at Colorado. Professional career Cincinnati Bengals Tupou signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on M ...

for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

New York Jets

On March 17, 2025, Tufele signed with the

Personal life

Tufele is of Polynesian descent. His father Line also played football. Tufele has two sisters and two younger brothers.

References

External links

New York Jets bioUSC Trojans bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tufele, Jay 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football defensive linemen USC Trojans football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Cincinnati Bengals players Pacific Islander American players of American football New York Jets players