Naufahu Tahi life and biography

Naufahu Tahi is an American football fullback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.

• Continues to pave the way for Adrian Peterson to set team records, establishing a mark for rushing TDs (18) in 2009 and set team rushing yardage record (1,760) in 2008.
• Spent 2000-03 out of football on a Mormon mission, returning to BYU for the 2003 season.

OFF THE FIELD
Family is native of Tonga, but he was born in California before moving to Utah as a child...Married to Alisa with children Maile and Lincoln…Joined teammates visiting the Minnesota VA Physical Therapy Clinic in 2009...Spent most of 2009 offseason at BYU working on his degree...Big fan of Bob Marley’s music...Hosting a football camp in Salt Lake City as part of the Grid Island Football Training and Education program he works with.

PRO
Helped Adrian Peterson set team record with 18 rushing TDs in 2009...Won starting job in 2008 and paved the way for Peterson to lead the NFL and set Vikings single-season rushing record…Signed by the Vikings off Cincinnati’s practice squad on the same day veteran FB Tony Richardson was placed on injured reserve…Entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Bengals and spent the opening 10 weeks of the 2006 season on their practice squad.

2009
Scored 1st career TD on a 1-yard pass from Brett Favre in the regular-season finale vs. NY Giants (1/3/10)...Set career-high with 67 receiving yards, including a career-long 32-yard catch at St. Louis (10/11)...Helped Peterson set new team record with 18 rushing TDs, a mark that also led the NFL.

2008
Stepped into starting role for 1st time in his career…Helped pave the way for 2008 NFL rushing king Adrian Peterson, who set Vikings records for single-season rushing yards (1,760) and games of 100+ yards (10) en route to becoming the 1st Viking to lead the NFL in rushing…Became the Vikings primary FB in the 3rd week of the season, replacing Thomas Tapeh…Caught career-high 16 passes out of the backfield.

2007
Earned his way onto the field as a rugged contributor on special teams and as a FB...Played in 1st career game in season opener vs. Atlanta (9/9) and posted 1st stats with 2 carries in the game...Missed game at Dallas (10/21) with knee injury suffered at Chicago (10/14).

2006
Signed by the Vikings off Cincinnati’s practice squad on 11/22/06 but did not suit up for any games…Inactive for 6 games with Vikings to end the season…College free agent with the Bengals, signing on 5/5/06…Spent the opening 10 weeks of the 2006 season on the Bengals’ practice squad…Went to training camp with Cincinnati and was released in final roster cuts on 9/2/06, then signed to the Bengals’ practice squad on 9/4/06.

COLLEGE

Equally adept at rushing the ball and catching it out of the backfield…Best single game of his career came against Notre Dame as a senior when he had 136 yards from scrimmage…Led team in rushing as a freshman…Went to BYU as a freshman in 1999 before leaving on a Mormon mission in Jacksonville, FL for 3 years…Returned to school from 2003-05 to complete his college football career.

Read more