Daniel Faalele


Daniel Faalele is an Australian professional American football guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He played college football for the Minnesota [Golden Gophers football|Minnesota Golden Gophers] and was selected by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life

Faalele was born on 9 November 1999 in Melbourne, Victoria, to a Samoan father and Tongan mother. According to a 2017 USA Today article, his father was tall, weighing. Faalele played basketball and rugby union as a youth until a member of the coaching staff of the University of Hawaii football team discovered him while scouting players in Australia.
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. After only practising 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. 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.

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 honourable mention All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten Conference]. Following the season, he was listed as one of Australia's 50 Greatest Living Athletes by GQ Australia. Faalele started 11 games at right tackle and was again named honorable mention All-Big Ten as a sophomore. As a junior in 2020, Faalele opted out of the season due to the COVID-19 crisis. Despite projections that Faalele would enter the 2021 NFL draft, he decided to stay with Minnesota for his senior year. On 28 December 2021, in his final college game, he scored his first career touchdown in the 2021 [Guaranteed Rate Bowl|Guaranteed Rate Bowl] against West Virginia, with a two-yard run up the middle.

Professional career

Faalele was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round, 110th overall, of the 2022 NFL draft. At, Faalele became the heaviest rostered player in the NFL. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and made one start.