Moliki Matavao

#88 · TE · Sr. · UCLA6′6″ · 263 lb · Henderson, NV · Liberty

Moliki Matavao: TE · UCLA · #88.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Luke FordIllinois · 2021 · 81% season match
Brett NorfleetMissouri · 2026 · 81% season match
Charlie KolarIowa State · 2021 · 66% season match
Terrance FergusonOregon · 2024 · 64% season match
Mitchell EvansNotre Dame · 2023 · 63% season match

Moliki Matavao

TE · UCLA · Sr · #88

Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. The four seasons span two programs and four head coaches: Bryan McClendon, Dan Lanning, Chip Kelly and Deshaun Foster. A game that shows it: 120 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Fresno State — Week 14, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

UCLA in the news

UCLA stadium deal fundedOct 30
Nico Iamaleava out for seasonUSA Today Oct 29
Top 50 QB Josiah Boyd commits to UCLAOn3 Oct 24
UCLA QB Nico Lamaleava out for seasonYahoo Sports Oct 17

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	UCLA	41	506	12.3	2	35
2023	UCLA	14	283	20.2	2	35
2022	Oregon	10	134	13.4	1	24
2021	Oregon	9	75	8.3	1	15
Career		74	998	13.5	6	35

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 16-13@ Hawai'i	3	42	14.0	0	20
Wk 3	L 13-42vs Indiana	3	32	10.7	0	15
Wk 4	L 17-34@ No. 16 LSU	1	11	11.0	0	11
Wk 5	L 13-34vs No. 8 Oregon	1	21	21.0	0	21
Wk 6	L 11-27@ No. 7 Penn State	3	18	6.0	0	9
Wk 7	L 17-21vs Minnesota	3	23	7.7	0	9
Wk 8	W 35-32@ Rutgers	6	104	17.3	0	25
Wk 10	W 27-20@ Nebraska	4	52	13.0	0	22
Wk 12	L 19-31@ Washington	7	68	9.7	1	27
Wk 13	L 13-19vs USC	2	15	7.5	1	10
Wk 14	W 20-13vs Fresno State	8	120	15.0	0	35	Season-high 120 yds
Total		41	506	12.3	2	35

Signature game

Week 12 · 2024

L 19-31

at Washington

7 rec · 68 yds · 1 TD

With E. Garbers — 267 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 76.0 · T. Harden — 6 rec · 79 yds · 33 rush yds (13 car)

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 12 · Washington · 3rd and 9 · Q1 · EPA +3.92Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 33 yds to the WASH 31 for a
Week 8 · Rutgers · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.94Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 25 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 10 · Nebraska · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.90Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 22 yds to the NEB 43 for a
Week 8 · Rutgers · 3rd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.74Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 14 yds to the RUTG 48 for a
Week 13 · USC · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.70Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 10 yds for a TD (Mateen Bhaghani KICK)
Week 14 · Fresno State · 3rd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.69Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 13 yds to the FRES 45 for a

4 more plays

Week 8 · Rutgers · 2nd and 11 · Q2 · EPA +2.51Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 20 yds to the UCLA 44 for a
Week 6 · Penn State · 4th and 3 · Q1 · EPA +2.45Justyn Martin pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 9 yds to the PSU 32 for a
Week 1 · Hawai'i · 1st and 15 · Q4 · EPA +2.45Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 20 yds to the HAW 44 for a
Week 12 · Washington · 2nd and 2 · Q4 · EPA +2.07Ethan Garbers pass complete to Moliki Matavao for 2 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)

Teams and coaches

2021Oregon10-4HC: Mario Cristobal · Run-leaning

2022Oregon10-3HC: Dan Lanning · Run-leaning

2023UCLA8-5HC: Chip Kelly · Run-leaning

2024UCLA5-7HC: Deshaun Foster · Balanced, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 62 (#23 of 135). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2024 season

62Quality starter #23 of 135 · 2024?

11 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: explosive rate (82nd percentile). Strength: rec yards (87th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#107 / 610 · 82nd pct

22.2%

EPA / target#166 / 610 · 73rd pct

1.07

Catch rate#204 / 610 · 66th pct

93.3%

Yards / catch#231 / 610 · 62nd pct

12.8

TD rate#384 / 610 · 37th pct

4.4%

Box-score rates (6)

Rec yards#22 / 168 · 87th pct

506

Receptions#23 / 168 · 86th pct

Fumbles lost#1 / 47 · 72nd pct

Yards / catch#48 / 168 · 71st pct

12.3

Long catch#73 / 168 · 55th pct

Rec TDs#72 / 168 · 46th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	3.4	42.2	12.4	0.2
Road6g	4.0	49.2	11.8	0.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	2.3	24.5	11.7	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	5.4	71.8	12.5	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Deshaun Foster

Pass share

54.7%

398 pass / 330 run

Plays / game

60.7

12 games

Team sack rate

8.0%

436 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

Impact starter

41 catches in 11 games, more catches a game than most FBS tight ends who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

62 · #23 of 135 TEs · 2024

Former four-star. Now #23 at the position.

Moliki Matavao

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

UCLA in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Impact starter

Four seasons, two schools, drafted

Moves

2021 8 games

2023 10 games

2025