The 90s are almost done, folks! And, not confined to being the birth year of Taylor Lautner, “92” is also the jersey number of…
#92, David Latu, RS Junior, Defensive Tackle
Stats
Height: 6′ 4″
Weight: 305 lbs
High school: Bingham High School (South Jordan, UT)
How’d he get to The Blue™?
Circuitously. Latu was an all-state defensive end for Bingham, helping them to the 6A state championship in Utah in…2017 (!!!). His high school statistics are a little hard to pin down, but it appears he had some difficulty staying on the field, as MaxPreps only credits him with 3 games played his senior year (2018-2019). Regardless, he made enough of an impression that he was able to get on the team at Snow College when he returned from a two year church mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For those curious, he served primarily in Tonga, but also a little in CA. Presumably, that had something to do with COVID, because splitting time between two countries is not typical.
At Snow College, he earned NJCAA All-American honors and parlayed that into a spot at BYU. In his sophomore season with the Cougars, he played in 12 games and had six total tackles. In 2024, it appears his season was cut short after only two games with no stats. Being under four games last year would likely explain why he is still only a redshirt junior though. At any rate, his dark, BYU-y past is behind him and he is no longer burdened by the ick of Provo. He has now found his way to the correct place, with a superior logo on his helmet, on a field that is the only proper color for a football field.
Nickname
“DL”
It’s his initials, his position, and apparently where a lot of his athletic history resides because it took me longer than it should have (especially in the digital age) to confirm his high school was in fact “Bingham” and not “Brigham”. For the record, his Broncosports profile currently shows one in the header and the other in the body…
Look-alike
Career Highlights
14 games played at BYU with six tackles. 12 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 4 TFLs at Snow College (in 9 games). Hudl highlights can be viewed here.
2025 Prospectus
Latu is coming into a defensive tackle rotation that is actually pretty deep. He was one of a few different notable transfers at the position this off-season (Mailoto, Washington). There was also Braxton Fely‘s brief dalliance with the transfer portal before returning home. All this to say…I have no idea where Latu will fall in the pecking order. Fely is a clear cut starter at one defensive tackle spot, but after that, we might not have a more defined picture until late in fall camp. Latu has some things going for him though: He’s big, strong, and has experience at a major college football program, even if not in this system. And he impressed enough there that he played in 12 games, as a sophomore. Also, he seems to be a very intelligent and mature individual that will, at the very least, be an asset in the locker room. So, I have high hopes for him, but no actual realistic picture of his prospects for 2025.
Is he on Twitter?
Yes. @perseuslatu801. And it’s usually retweets, but he did have this one that caught my eye because it also featured former Boise State defensive tackle, Sonatane Lui:
Completely made up fact
David Latu doesn’t need their playbook to know what an offensive lineman is going to do. Mostly because he just tells them where to go…with his body. And then he makes a tackle for a loss.
So a two-year mission redshirt junior; that makes him what, 28?