Brandon Pili
No. 96 – Miami Dolphins
Position:Nose tackle
Personal information
Born: (1999-04-02) April 2, 1999
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:319 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Dimond
(Anchorage, Alaska)
Westview
(Portland, Oregon)
College:USC (2017–2022)
Undrafted:2023
Career history
Roster status:Practice squad
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2023
Tackles:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Brandon Pili (born April 2, 1999) is an American football nose tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for USC and was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Early life and education

Pili was born on April 2, 1999, the eldest of seven children.[1][2] His father had moved to Alaska from Hawaii in 1990 and his mother grew up in Barrow, Alaska, the most northernmost settlement in the United States.[2] He lived the first few years of his life in Barrow, later moving to Anchorage.[2][3] He played several sports growing up and attended Dimond High School in Anchorage, where he played football until the first game of his senior season.[2] Pili transferred to Westview High School in Portland, Oregon, to finish his high school career.[2] He had received little attention from college football teams while at Dimond but began receiving a significant amount of offers after transferring to Westview; he ultimately committed to play for the USC Trojans.[2]

College career

Pili, a defensive tackle, weighed 345 pounds in his freshman year at USC and saw significant playing time that year, appearing in nine games, two as a starter, and posting 14 tackles as well as a blocked field goal.[4][5] The following year, he played in all 12 games and had two starts, posting 12 tackles and a sacks.[6] In 2019, he had 18 tackles, three pass breakups and a fumble forced in 13 games played.[6] Pili posted five tackles in four games played during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.[4]

Pili was expected to see significant action in the 2021 season, but tore his achilles tendon prior to the start of the season and missed the entire year.[7] In his final year, 2022, he brought his weight down to 315 pounds, played 14 games and had a career-high 25 tackles in addition to one sack and a pass breakup.[5][8][9] He finished his collegiate career with 74 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss, and four sacks in 52 games played.[9][10]

Professional career

After going unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Pili was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.[11] He made the team's final roster, becoming the first Alaskan to be on an NFL roster since 2014.[3] He was waived on November 4 and re-signed to the practice squad three days later.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Brandon Pili". ESPN. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Helfand, Zach (August 27, 2017). "The final frontier of recruiting". The La Crosse Tribune. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. 1 2 Rodenberger, Jordan (August 30, 2023). "Brandon Pili becomes first Alaskan in NFL in nearly 10 years after making Miami Dolphins roster". KTUU-TV.
  4. 1 2 "Brandon Pili". USC Trojans.
  5. 1 2 Furones, David (May 23, 2023). "Undrafted DT's game has some Vea influence". South Florida Sun Sentinel. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. 1 2 McKinney, Erik (April 29, 2023). "Brandon Pili Signs as Undrafted Free Agent with Miami Dolphins". On3.com.
  7. ↑ McKinney, Erik (April 9, 2022). "Brandon Pili feels great after a long road back from injury". On3.com.
  8. ↑ Sarney, Jason (May 11, 2023). "Dolphins Wire UDFA Player Profile: DL Brandon Pili". USA Today.
  9. 1 2 Williams, Van (April 29, 2023). "Pro Football: Undrafted yet undaunted, Brandon Pili's NFL dream stays alive with Miami deal". Alaska Sports Report.
  10. ↑ Trevino, Chris (August 30, 2023). "USC defensive lineman Brandon Pili makes Miami Dolphins roster as UDFA". 247Sports.
  11. ↑ Zemek, Matt (April 29, 2023). "Brandon Pili signs UDFA deal with Miami Dolphins". USA Today.
  12. ↑ Masala, Mike (November 7, 2023). "Dolphins swap DL on the practice squad". Dolphins Wire. USA Today. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
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