Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award

The Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award, instituted in 2014 by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, is given annually to the most outstanding player of Polynesian descent at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football.

Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award

Awarded for	Given to the outstanding Polynesian football player at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football that epitomize great ability and integrity.
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii
Country	United States
Presented by	Polynesian Football Hall of Fame
History
First award	2014 (College) 2015 (Pro) 2017 (High School)
Most recent	College: Taulia Tagovailoa (OPOY) Laiatu Latu (DPOY) Pro: Tua Tagovailoa High School: Dylan Raiola (co-recipient) Isaac Wilson (co-recipient)
Website	https://www.polynesianfootballhof.org

The award was first established in 2014^[1] and initially only recognized the best Polynesian college football player. The award was expanded in 2015 to recognize Polynesian professional football players^[2] and was expanded yet again in 2017 to recognize Polynesian high school football players.^[3]

Recipients

High school winners

Year	Player	Position	School	Ref
2017	Talanoa Hufanga	Athlete	Crescent Valley High School (Corvallis, OR)	[4]
2018	Puka Nacua	Wide receiver	Orem High School (Orem, UT)	[5]
	Taulia Tagovailoa	Quarterback	Thompson High School (Alabaster, AL)
2019	DJ Uiagalelei		St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, CA)	[6]
2020	JT Tuimoloau	Defensive end	Eastside Catholic School (Sammamish, WA)	[7]
2021	Tetairoa McMillan	Wide receiver	Servite High School (Anaheim, CA)	[8]
2022	Nico Iamaleava	Quarterback	Warren High School (Downey, CA)	[9]
2023	Dylan Raiola		Buford High School (Buford, GA)	[10]
	Isaac Wilson		Corner Canyon High School (Draper, UT)

Collegiate winners

Year	Player	Position	School	Ref
2014	Marcus Mariota	Quarterback	Oregon	[11]
2015	Ronnie Stanley	Offensive tackle	Notre Dame	[12]
2016	Sefo Liufau	Quarterback	Colorado	[13]
2017	Hercules Mata'afa	Defensive tackle	Washington State	[14]
2018	Tua Tagovailoa	Quarterback	Alabama	[15]
2019	Penei Sewell	Offensive tackle	Oregon	[16]
	Tua Tagovailoa (2)	Quarterback	Alabama
2020	Talanoa Hufanga	Safety	USC	[17]
	Zach Wilson	Quarterback	BYU
2021	Haskell Garrett	Defensive tackle	Ohio State	[18]
2022	Tuli Tuipulotu	Defensive end	USC	[19]
2023	Laiatu Latu (DPOY)		UCLA	[20]
	Taulia Tagovailoa (OPOY)	Quarterback	Maryland

Professional winners

Year	Player	Position	Team	Ref
2015	Mike Iupati	Offensive guard	Arizona Cardinals	[21]
2016	Marcus Mariota	Quarterback	Tennessee Titans	[22]
2017	JuJu Smith-Schuster (2)	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers	[23]
2018				[24]
2019	Ronnie Stanley	Offensive tackle	Baltimore Ravens	[25]
2020	DeForest Buckner	Defensive tackle	Indianapolis Colts	[26]
2021	No award given
2022	Tua Tagovailoa (OPOY)	Quarterback	Miami Dolphins	[27]
	Talanoa Hufanga (DPOY)	Safety	San Francisco 49ers
2023	Tua Tagovailoa (2)	Quarterback	Miami Dolphins	[28]

References

1. "Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Announces the Establishment of the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award". Polynesian Football HOF. July 23, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
2. "Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year Watch List Announced". Polynesian Football HOF. September 15, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
3. "Polynesian Hall of Fame Announces New Polynesian High School Player of the Year Award and Watch List". Polynesian Football HOF. August 1, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
4. "Talonoa Hufanga named Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year". High School Football America. January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
5. "Nacua, Tagovailoa named Polynesian HS FB Co-Players of the Year". 247sports. January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
6. "DJ UIAGALELEI NAMED POLYNESIAN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
7. "J.T. TUIMOLOAU NAMED THE 2020–21 POLYNESIAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. May 26, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
8. "TETAIROA MCMILLAN NAMED 2021 POLYNESIAN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. December 6, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
9. "QB Nico Iamaleava Named 2022 Polynesian Football High School Player of the Year". 247sports. January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
10. "Dylan Raiola, Isaac Wilson named 2023 Polynesian High School Football Players of the Year". 247Sports. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
11. "University of Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota Named Polynesian College Football Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. December 9, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
12. "NOTRE DAME OFFENSIVE LINEMAN RONNIE STANLEY NAMED POLYNESIAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
13. "University of Colorado Quarterback Sefo Liufau Named Polynesian College Football Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. December 7, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
14. "Washington State Defensive Lineman Hercules Mata'afa Named Polynesian College Football Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. December 12, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
15. "University of Alabama Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa Named Polynesian College Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. December 13, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
16. "TUA TAGOVAILOA AND PENEI SEWELL NAMED POLYNESIAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
17. "USC SAFETY TALANOA HUFANGA AND BYU QUARTERBACK ZACH KAPONO WILSON NAMED 2020 POLYNESIAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
18. "ANNOUNCING THE 2021 POLYNESIAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
19. "ANNOUNCING THE 2022 POLYNESIAN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. December 13, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
20. "Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa, UCLA's Laiatu Latu named 2023 Polynesian College Football Players of the Year". 247Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
21. "ARIZONA CARDINALS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MIKE IUPATI NAMED POLYNESIAN PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
22. "Tennessee Titans Quarterback Marcus Mariota Named Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
23. "Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster Named Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year". Polynesian Football HOF. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
24. "JuJu Smith-Schuster Named Polynesian Pro Football Player of the Year; Ka'imi Fairbairn to Receive Kūpono Award for Excellence". Polynesian Football HOF. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
25. "Former Notre Dame standout Ronnie Stanley named Polynesian Player of the Year". South Bend Tribune. January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
26. "INDIANAPOLIS COLTS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DEFOREST BUCKNER NAMED POLYNESIAN PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Polynesian Football HOF. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
27. "SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS SAFETY TALANOA HUFANGA AND MIAMI DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK TUA TAGOVAILOA NAMED POLYNESIAN PRO FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY HAWAIIAN AIRLINES". Polynesian Football HOF. January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
28. "MIAMI DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK TUA TAGOVAILOA NAMED POLYNESIAN PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY HAWAIIAN AIRLINES". Polynesian Football HOF. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

External links

• Official website