Daniel Faalele

Daniel Faalele (born November 9, 1999) is an Australian born American football offensive tackle who currently plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Daniel Faalele
Minnesota Golden Gophers – No. 78
PositionOffensive tackle
ClassJunior
Career history
College
High schoolIMG Academy
(Bradenton, Florida)
Personal information
Born: (1999-11-09) November 9, 1999
Height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight400 lb (181 kg)

Early life and high school career

Faalele grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He played basketball and rugby as a youth until he was discovered by a member of the coaching staff of the University of Hawaii football team discovered him while scouting players in Australia.[1]

After participating in a local satellite camp run by Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and garnering interest from multiple Division I programs, Faalele was recruited to play football at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[2] After only practicing and learning the sport in 2016, he was a starter on IMG's offensive line in 2017 as the team went undefeated and he was selected to play in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game.[3] Faalele was rated a four star prospect and committed to play college football at Minnesota over offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Michigan.[4]

College career

Faalele played in 10 games as a true freshman, starting the final eight games of the season at right tackle and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.[5] Following the season he was listed as one of Australia's 50 Greatest Living Athletes by GQ Australia.[6] Faalele started 11 games at right tackle and was again named honorable mention All-Big Ten as a sophomore.[7]

References
  1. Metcalfe, Myron (December 26, 2018). "Larger-than-life Faalele making an impact at Minnesota". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  2. Staples, Andy (March 6, 2017). "Think big: 6'9", 396-pound Daniel Faalele has coaches drooling—and he's never played a down". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  3. Mason, Tyler (October 26, 2018). "Daniel Faalele's quick rise from football rookie in Australia to the Gophers' line". The Athletic. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  4. VanHaaren, Tom (December 10, 2017). "Daniel Faalele, at 6-8, 395 pounds, to play football for Gophers". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  5. Dodd, Dennis (July 22, 2019). "The biggest player in college football is just now learning how to dominate". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  6. Riley, Christopher (March 3, 2019). "These Are Australia's 50 Greatest Living Athletes". GQ Australia. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  7. "Rashod Bateman named Big Ten Receiver of the Year; Tyler Johnson also first team". Star Tribune. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
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