USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans DL Tuli Tuipulotu

Countdown to kickoff is back! USC will kick off its 2026 football season on August 29 when the Trojans host San Jose State at the Coliseum. In this series, we will be counting down the days until the season opener by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number.

With today marking 49 days to go, we start the second half of the countdown by looking at former USC All-American defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu.

Career highlights: Tuipulotu emerged as an immediate contributor on USC’s defensive line as a true freshman in 2020. That year, he played alongside his older brother, Marlon. With Marlon off to the NFL in 2021, the younger Tuipulotu stepped up to help fill the void, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors.

In 2022, however, Tuipulotu took things to an entirely new level. That season, he recorded a remarkable 13.5 sacks, the most of any player in the country. In addition, he had 46 total tackles and two forced fumbles. Tuipulotu was named a Unanimous All-American and won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Morris Trophy (given to the top lineman in the Pac-12 Conference), and the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award.

After USC: Following the 2022 season, Tuipulotu declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Los Angeles Chargers selected him in the second round. It has not taken Tuipulotu long to emerge as a star at the professional level. After being named the PFWA All-Rookie team in 2023, he followed it up with an 8.5-sack campaign in 2024.

Last year, Tuipulotu had the best season of his career yet, racking up 13 sacks and two forced fumbles and being selected to his first Pro Bowl. Still just 23 years old, Tuipulotu appears to be one of the league’s brightest young defensive stars.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling Trojans DL Tuli Tuipulotu