Defensive line, Washington State, 2014–17
Hercules Mata’afa
- Number
- No. 50
- Height
- 6′2″
- Weight
- 252 lb
- Hometown
- Lahaina, HI
- Born
- Sep 18, 1995
Wikipedia readers: about 135 a month over the past year
Hercules Mata’afa played defensive line at Washington State (2014–17). He was a consensus All‑American in 2017.
Career highs
8tackles, career highat Colorado, 20162.5sacks, career highvs. Nevada, 2017Honors
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Washington State | 47 | 34 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| 2017 | Washington State | 37 | 23 | 17.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 5 |
| Career | 84 | 57 | 29.5 | 12.5 | 0 | 12 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
Defense before 2016
| Season | G | Solo | Ast | Tkl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8 of 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
Our box scores carry tackles, tackles for loss and sacks from 2016 only, so these come from other sources: ESPN play-by-play participants, via SportsDataverse: tackles only, counted in the games whose play-by-play names tacklers (G: those games, of his team’s), so part of the season, not its total. A dash: the source has no number for it.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Washington State | 50 | DL | ||
| 2015 | Washington State | 50 | DE | ||
| 2016 | Washington State | 50 | DL | ||
| 2017 | Washington State | 50 | DL | 6′2″ | 252 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2017 Washington State 10 games, 37 tackles, 7.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Montana State | W 31–0 | 5 | 2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Boise State | W 47–44 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs. Nevada | W 45–7 | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Sep 29 | vs. USC | W 30–27 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 13 | at California | L 3–37 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs. Colorado | W 28–0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | at Arizona | L 37–58 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | vs. Stanford | W 24–21 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | at Washington | L 14–41 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. Michigan State | L 17–42 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2016 Washington State 12 games, 47 tackles, 5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. Eastern Washington | L 42–45 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 10 | atBoise State | L 28–31 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Idaho | W 56–6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | vs. Oregon | W 51–33 | 4 | 3 | 3.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | atStanford | W 42–16 | 6 | 4 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | vs. UCLA | W 27–21 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | at Arizona State | W 37–32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 29 | at Oregon State | W 35–31 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | vs.California | W 56–21 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | atColorado | L 24–38 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Washington | L 17–45 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Minnesota | L 12–17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2018 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′2¼″ |
| Weight | 254 lb |
| Arm length | 31½″ |
| Hand size | 10¼″ |
| Wingspan | 76⅛″W |
| 40-yard dash | 4.76 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.64 sW |
| Vertical jump | 31½″ |
| Broad jump | 9′0″ |
| Bench press | 26 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.24 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.37 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
2 seasons, 14 games with a stat; latest team: Jacksonville Jaguars.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 24 | 2.5 | 0 |
| NFL career | 14 | 25 | 2.5 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Other pro football
| Years | League | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | USFL | New Jersey Generals |
| 2024 | UFL | Birmingham Stallions * |
Leagues other than the NFL, from the infobox of his Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), as it names the teams. * Off-season roster or practice squad only.
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