2021 Countdown to Kickoff: 50 Days Part II (Sio Nofoagatoto’a)

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

The 2021 Countdown to Kickoff is officially halfway complete! With 50 days remaining to battle against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, it is only fitting we feature the guys who will wear the number 50 jerseys. On offense, we introduced Zach Carpenter this morning, and on defense is none other than Sio Nofoagatoto’a.

Sio Nofoagatoto’a

Position: Defensive Lineman

Year: Junior

Hometown: Ili’ili, American Samoa (Clearwater Academy International, Fla.)

Height/Weight: 6’3”/315 pounds

Sio Nofoagatoto’a bounced across the world before he eventually landed in Bloomington. He was born in New Zealand, moved to American Samoa in 2008, and in 2015 to Australia. It was when he moved to Florida to play football at Clearwater Academy that he popped up on Indiana football’s radar, and the Hoosiers were one of 22 schools to offer him a college football scholarship.

Nofoagatoto’a’s commitment to IU made him the first American Samoan to put on the candy stripes since offensive lineman Pita Elisara in 1998-1999. He came to Bloomington to make an instant impact and did just that. As a true freshman in 2019, he posted nine tackles in 10 games, and had an impressive performance in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl where he had a season-high three stops vs. Tennessee.

Last season Nofoagatoto’a played in all eight games of IU’s shortened season, and started in two at tackle. He made a pair of stops with the TFL in the Hoosiers’ season-opening victory of Penn State and had a career-high four tackles that helped IU over Wisconsin. He collected 12 tackles total, one for loss, and had a pass breakup as a sophomore.

Going into his junior year, he will add to the anchor he was on defense, and take on a leadership role he has proven to be capable of. You can expect bigger numbers as he gears up for a breakout season and gains more starts with the loss of Jerome Johnson and Javon Swann to the NFL.