Marist Liufau
American football player (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marist Lealofi Liufau (born February 9, 2001) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
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Injured reserveKalihi, Hawaii, U.S.
Liufau with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 | |||||||||||||
| No. 35 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Outside linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Injured reserve | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | February 9, 2001 Kalihi, Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 238 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii) | ||||||||||||
| College | Notre Dame (2019–2023) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2024: 3rd round, 87th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Early life
Liufau attended Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1] He was selected to play in the 2019 Polynesian Bowl. He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football.[2][3]
College career
In his first season at Notre Dame in 2019, Liufau appeared in four games and in 2020 he started three of 10 games and had 22 tackles and 0.5 sacks. He missed the 2021 season after suffering an ankle injury in practice.[4] Liufau returned from the injury in 2022 to start all 13 games and finished with 51 tackles, 0.5 sacks and an interception.[5] As a senior in 2023, he started all 12 games he played in, recording 44 tackles and three sacks. Liufau opted out of the 2023 Sun Bowl and entered the 2024 NFL draft.[6]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄8 in (1.88 m) | 234 lb (106 kg) | 34+1⁄4 in (0.87 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 6 ft 7+3⁄8 in (2.02 m) | 4.64 s | 1.59 s | 2.72 s | 4.18 s | 7.14 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) | 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) | 16 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[7][8][9] | ||||||||||||
Liufau was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round with the 87th overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.[10]
On August 30, 2026, Liufau was placed on injured reserve after suffering a fractured forearm in the preseason.[11]
Career statistics
NFL
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sack | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2019 | Notre Dame | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 10 | 3 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | DNP | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 13 | 13 | 51 | 22 | 29 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 12 | 12 | 44 | 23 | 21 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 39 | 28 | 117 | 55 | 62 | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
Personal life
Liufau is the cousin of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua.[12]
Liufau is dating WNBA star guard, and former Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Sonia Citron.[13]
