#42

Mika Tafua

Junior defensive end for Utah. 2021: 9.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 48 tackles.

DE · Utah · Jr. · #42

6′3″ · 250 lb · Laie, HI

CFB Index 97 · #2 of 370 edge rushersMedium confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamUtah 2021 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

WDE recruit

No. 478 nationally · Signed with Utah

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

3 defensive end for Utah. 2021: 9.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 48 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Utah in 2018.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Utah, 16 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2021) — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

201810 games

Signed with Utah3-star out of Kamehameha Schools Maui

20204 games

The snaps went the other way.

All-Pac-12Second Team

202113 games

The role got bigger.

All-Pac-12First Team

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#478 national

CFB

College

Utah

2018–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

2 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-PAC-12 · 1ST TEAM

All-Pac-12 1st team (2021)

Coaching lineage · 2018–2021

1 coach

2018–2021

Kyle Whittingham

Utah

Played his entire career under Kyle Whittingham.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Kyle Whittingham — 33-14 over that span.

2018Utah9-5HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning

2019Utah11-3HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-heavy

2020Utah3-2HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning

2021Utah10-4HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

97All-America level #2 of 370?

Medium confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (99th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (98th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Sacks#22 / 2743 · 99th pct

9.5

Tackles for loss#63 / 2743 · 98th pct

13.0

QB hurries#138 / 2743 · 94th pct

Solo tackles#558 / 2743 · 79th pct

Passes defended#481 / 2743 · 78th pct

Tackles#647 / 2743 · 76th pct

Forced fumbles#59 / 673 · 46th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	2.9	0.8	0.5	0.1
Road6g	4.5	1.2	1.0	0.3

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	3.0	0.9	0.8	0.2
Weeks 8+7g	4.1	1.1	0.7	0.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Morgan Scalley

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

our read the All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #2 of 370 FBS edge rushers by CFB Index Score.2021 profile

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

97 · #2 of 370 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #2 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Utah	48	31	13.0	9.5	3	--	--
2020	Utah	9	8	2.0	2.0	2	--	--
2019	Utah	47	19	8.5	3.0	2	--	--
2018	Utah	22	12	7.5	2.0	2	--	--
Career		126	70	31.0	16.5	9	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 7 · 2021

W 35–21

vs Arizona State

1 SOLO · 2 TOT

With C. Rising — 247 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 90.9 · 59 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD · C. Peasley — 39 AVG · 43 LONG · 3 NO

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 40-17vs Weber State	3	1	1.5	0.5	—	0
Wk 2	L 17-26@ BYU	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	L 31-33@ San Diego State	3	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 24-13vs Washington State	3	3	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 6	W 42-26@ USC	4	2	2.0	2.0	—	1	2 sacks
Wk 7	W 35-21vs Arizona State	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	L 34-42@ Oregon State	6	3	2.0	1.0	—	0	Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 9	W 44-24vs UCLA	5	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 52-7@ Stanford	5	4	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 38-29@ Arizona	6	4	1.0	1.0	—	1
Wk 12	W 38-7vs Oregon	2	1	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 28-13vs Colorado	3	2	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 14	W 38-10vs Oregon	2	2	0.0	0.0	—	1
Total		47	30	13.0	9.5	—	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology