Matangi To-I-Moana Tonga (born January 6, 1988) is an American former 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. He was a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

Early life

Tonga played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Aragon High School Aragon High School is a public co-educational high school in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). It is located in San Mateo County, a large suburb just outside San Francisco. The school is a ...

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. He played

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 ...

, linebacker and

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 Dons. He earned First-team All-League, All-State, All-Metro, All-County and All-Central Coast honors in both his junior and senior years. He was team MVP his senior season. Tonga was also named San Mateo Daily Journal, San Mateo Daily News and San Mateo County Times Player of the Year. He helped the Dons to a 9–2 record as a senior while recording 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. He also rushed for 837 yards and 20 touchdowns on 105 carries.

College career

Tonga first played

in 2006 for the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

. He appeared in 13 games for the team during the season, recording 13 tackles, one sack and one interception. He was suspended indefinitely from the Cougars in February 2007 after being charged with burglary. Tonga afterwards attended

Utah Valley State College Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

. He played for the San Mateo Bulldogs of

College of San Mateo College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 153-a ...

during the 2009 season. He helped the Bulldogs finish with a 10–2 record and advanced to the state championship game. Tonga was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

First-team selection. He transferred to play for the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education inst ...

in 2010.

Professional career

Tonga signed by the

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) after going undrafted in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He was released by the Cowboys after failing a physical. Tonga was assigned to the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) on April 21, 2012. He recorded nine tackles and one sack in nine games his rookie year in 2012. He compiled 25 tackles and 3.5 sacks in fifteen games in 2013. Tonga collected 19 tackles and two sacks in eighteen games in 2014. The Barnstormers left the AFL and became members of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

on August 27, 2014. Tonga was assigned to the

of the AFL on October 2, 2014. Tonga was traded to the

for the third overall claim order position on April 28, 2015. He was placed on recallable reassignment on May 27, 2015.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonga, Matangi Living people 1988 births American football linebackers BYU Cougars football players Utah Valley University alumni San Mateo Bulldogs football players Houston Cougars football players Dallas Cowboys players Iowa Barnstormers players Spokane Shock players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from Redwood City, California American people of Tongan descent