Stephen Paea
Paea (left) in a game vs. Louisville in 2010 | |||||||
Chicago Bears | |||||||
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Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Auckland, New Zealand | May 11, 1988||||||
Career information | |||||||
College: | Oregon State | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2011 / round: 2 / pick: 53 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2011 | |||||||
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Stephen Paea (pronounced /ˈpaɪ.ə/ PY-ə; born May 11, 1988) is an American football defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears.
He played college football at Oregon State University. He was taken with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Bears.
Early years
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Paea grew up on Vavaʻu, Tonga, which was where he played rugby as a young boy. When he was 16, his family moved to the United States, originally to Lawrence, Kansas, where his cousin Chris Maumalanga was playing for the Kansas Jayhawks.[1] After a year, they moved to Provo, Utah, where Paea attended Timpview High School. Playing defensive line at only 240 pounds, he drew little attention by Division I schools, so he decided to enroll at nearby Snow College in Ephraim.
After redshirting his initial year at Snow, he added more than 20 pounds to his frame and started the 2007 season as the No. 2 tackle on the depth chart. Finally drawing the attention of major schools, he transferred to Oregon State in mid-season after graduating from Snow with an associate's degree in December 2007.[2]
College career
Making an immediate impact for the Beavers, Paea played in all 13 games, starting 12 of them, and recorded 41 tackles, 11 for a loss, and five quarterback sacks. He was selected to College Football News′ All-Sophomore Second Team and was an All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention.
As a junior, he registered a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss and was co-leader for sacks with three. He was named All-Pacific-10 First Team and received the Morris Trophy for the best defensive lineman in the conference.
In February 2010, a YouTube video showed him bench-pressing 225 pounds 44 times.[3][4]
Paea was invited to the 2011 Senior Bowl, but tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee on the opening practice, causing him to miss the remainder of the event.[5]
Paea was a nominee for the Bill Hayward Athlete of the Year Award at the 2011 Oregon Sports Awards.
Professional career
2011 NFL Draft
At the NFL Combine, recorded 49 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press, the highest since Justin Ernest's 51 reps in 1999.[6][7]
Chicago Bears
Paea was taken with the 53rd overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and on July 29, 2011, he signed a 4-year contract with the Chicago Bears.
In a Sunday Night Football game on October 16 against the Minnesota Vikings, as well as his NFL debut, Paea sacked Donovan McNabb in the end zone for a safety, being the first Bears player to record a safety in his debut since at least 1970.[8]
References
- ^ Stephen Paea: From Tonga to Oregon State
- ^ Beavs land athletic tackle from Snow College
- ^ Stephen Paea Bench Press on YouTube
- ^ "Beaver from Tonga learning on the fly". Arizona Daily Star. October 7, 2010.
- ^ Mortensen, Chris (January 25, 2011). "Sources: DT Stephen Paea tears lateral meniscus in knee at Senior Bowl". ESPN.
- ^ Saunders, Patrick (February 23, 2010). "Don't put too much stock in NFL combine". Denver Post.
- ^ "Paea shatters combine bench-press mark". NFL.com. February 27, 2011.
- ^ Hester's injury not considered serious. Chicagobears.com (2011-10-17). Retrieved on 2012-02-28.
External links
- 1988 births
- Living people
- People from Auckland
- All-American college football players
- American football defensive tackles
- Tongan players of American football
- Oregon State Beavers football players
- American people of Tongan descent
- Chicago Bears players
- New Zealand players of American football
- Tongan emigrants to the United States
- New Zealand people of Tongan descent
- New Zealand emigrants to the United States