Sione Vaki

VAKI QUICK HITS

• 26 career games as a Ute with 17 starts.
• 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl invitee.
• 2023 finalist for both Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and the Paul Hornung Award.
• 2023 All-America (Sports Illustrated Second Team All-Purpose; Sporting News Second Team All-Purpose; Phil Steele Third Team)
• 2023 Pac-12 All-Conference (Coaches First Team safety/all-purpose; AP Second Team safety; Phil Steele Second Team safety)
• Primarily has played safety, also seeing time on offense in seven games during 2023.

 
2023: Made 12 starts at safety, while also seeing time at running back and out of the wildcat during seven games.

• Three-time selection to the Paul Hornung Award Weekly Honor Roll (Cal, USC, Washington) after excelling both at safety and running back.
• Tallied 51 tackles (8.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks) along with an interception and two PBU.
• His 8.5 TFL led the secondary and ranked second on the team.
• Tied for 10^th in the Pac-12 with 7.5 TFL coming during conference play.
• On offense, had 42 carries for 317 yards and two touchdowns, also catching 11 passes for 203 yards and three scores.
• Tied a career-high with nine tackles vs. No. 22 UCLA and No. 19 Oregon State, including a career-best 3.5 TFL against the Beavers.
• Contributed both a sack and receiving touchdown during the game at No. 5 Washington, becoming the first Pac-12 player since 2014 to accomplish that feat in the same game.
• Made his first career interception vs. Florida.
• His 158 rushing yards vs. Cal were the highest by a Pac-12 defensive back in recorded league history. He became the first Utah DB with two rushing touchdowns in a game since Eric Weddle in 2006.
• Ran for a 72-yard touchdown against Cal, among his 15 carries for 158 yards and two scores.
• Vaki’s 53-yard touchdown receptions at No. 18 USC and No. 5 Washington are the longest by a Utah defensive player in recorded history.

2022: Appeared in all 14 games (five starts), seeing time both on defense and special teams.

• Forty-one tackles (3.5 TFL), with one forced fumble and three pass breakups.
• Career-best nine stops (two on third down) came during his first start at Washington State.
• Led the team and matched a game-high with eight stops in the Rose Bowl vs. No. 11 Penn State.
• Posted six tackles (1.0 TFL) and a pair of pass breakups in the Pac-12 Championship vs. No. 4 USC.
• Contributed a career-best 2.0 TFL in the regular season finale at Colorado.

High School: Three-star recruit rated by 247Sports and Rivals, who originally signed with the Utes in 2019 out of Liberty HS.

• Joins the Utes after returning from a two-year church mission.
• Also held receiver and returner roles at Liberty HS.
• Invited to the 2019 Polynesian Bowl.
• Bay Valley Athletic League MVP as a senior in 2018.
• All-BVAL selection on both offense and defense as a senior.
• Second-team all-metro as a junior.
• Third-team all-Bay Area News Group and Cal-Hi Sports Junior All-State in 2017.
• Recorded 73 tackles (1.0 TFL), four interceptions (1 TD), two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior in 2018.
• 1,684 all-purpose yards as a senior included 111 kick return (1 TD), 96 punt return, 75 interception return and 43 rushing (1 TD).
• 65 receptions for 1,359 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2018, averaging 104.5 yards per game and 20.9 yards per catch.
• Part of the 2018 Liberty BVAL championship squad that finished second in California in the open division.
• 45 tackles, an interception returned 47 yards for a touchdown and two fumble recoveries as a junior in 2017.
• As a junior, 1,214 all-purpose yards included 809 receiving (12 TD) and 358 rushing (6 TD), helping Liberty to the 2017 CIF North Coast Section Division I state title.
• Played at Antioch HS as a sophomore and recorded 14 tackles (2.0 sacks) and 146 receiving yards.

Personal: Son of Piuleini Vaki and the late Oto’ota Vaki.

2022

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
2.5	0.0	26.0	0.0	3.0	0.0	22.0