Tenny Tatoi Palepoi (born December 19, 1990) 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

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 enrolled at

Snow College Snow College is a Public college, public community college in Ephraim, Utah. It offers certificates and associate degrees along with bachelor's degrees in music, software engineering, and nursing. Snow College is part of the Utah System of High ...

before transferring and playing

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

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans in the Unite ...

. His brother,

Anton Palepoi Anton Charles Palepoi (born January 19, 1978) is an American Samoan former professional player of American football who was a defensive end for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UNLV Rebels. ...

, also played in the NFL.

Early life

Palepoi was born on December 19, 1990, in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. He 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 ...

at Skyline High School in

Holladay, Utah Holladay is a city in central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area and abuts the Wasatch National Forest. The population was 31,965 at the 2020 census, a significant incr ...

. He first-team all-state in 2008 as a senior and honorable mention all-state in 2007. He was also team captain and an all-region selection his junior and senior years.

College career

Palepoi played for the

Badgers from 2010 to 2011. He was a

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

All-American 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 All- WSFL selection, and team captain his sophomore year in 2011. Palepoi transferred and played football for the

of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

from 2012 to 2013. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and team captain his senior year. He recorded 74 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks at the University of Utah.

Professional career

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

Palepoi was signed by 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 ...

on May 13, 2014, after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2014, against the

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 ...

, recording one tackle. He was ruled out for the 2015 season with a fractured foot on August 3, 2015. Palepoi was suspended four games on December 12, 2016, for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. On March 20, 2017, Palepoi re-signed with the Chargers.

Buffalo Bills

On April 16, 2018, Palepoi signed a one-year contract with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He was released on July 25, 2018. He was re-signed on August 19, 2018, only to be released four days later.

Salt Lake Stallions

On December 22, 2018, Palepoi signed with the

Salt Lake Stallions The Salt Lake Stallions were a professional American football franchise based in Salt Lake City, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The Stallions were the northernmost tea ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

. The league ceased operations in April 2019. In the 2020 XFL draft, Palepoi was selected by the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seat ...

References

External links

NFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palepoi. Tenny Living people 1990 births Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends American sportspeople of Samoan descent Snow Badgers football players Utah Utes football players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Buffalo Bills players Salt Lake Stallions players