Brandon Pili
| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | April 2, 1999 Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 319 lb (145 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Dimond (Anchorage, Alaska) Westview (Portland, Oregon) | ||||
| College: | USC (2017–2022) | ||||
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||
| |||||
Brandon Pili (born April 2, 1999) is an American professional football nose tackle who is a free agent. He played college football for USC and was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
Early life and education
[edit]Pili was born on April 2, 1999, the eldest of seven children.[1][2] His father had moved to Alaska from Hawaii in 1990 and his mother grew up in Barrow, Alaska, the most northernmost settlement in the United States.[2] He lived the first few years of his life in Barrow, later moving to Anchorage.[2][3] He played several sports growing up and attended Dimond High School in Anchorage, where he played football until the first game of his senior season.[2] Pili transferred to Westview High School in Portland, Oregon, to finish his high school career.[2] He had received little attention from college football teams while at Dimond but began receiving a significant amount of offers after transferring to Westview; he ultimately committed to play for the USC Trojans.[2]
College career
[edit]Pili, a defensive tackle, weighed 345 pounds in his freshman year at USC and saw significant playing time that year, appearing in nine games, two as a starter, and posting 14 tackles as well as a blocked field goal.[4][5] The following year, he played in all 12 games and had two starts, posting 12 tackles and a sacks.[6] In 2019, he had 18 tackles, three pass breakups and a fumble forced in 13 games played.[6] Pili posted five tackles in four games played during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.[4]
Pili was expected to see significant action in the 2021 season, but tore his achilles tendon prior to the start of the season and missed the entire year.[7] In his final year, 2022, he brought his weight down to 315 pounds, played 14 games and had a career-high 25 tackles in addition to one sack and a pass breakup.[5][8][9] He finished his collegiate career with 74 tackles, 10 of which were for a loss, and four sacks in 52 games played.[9][10]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
316 lb (143 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) |
5.36 s | 1.83 s | 3.09 s | 4.95 s | 7.75 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) |
24 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Pili was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.[12] He made the team's final roster, becoming the first Alaskan to be on an NFL roster since 2014.[3] He was waived on November 4 and re-signed to the practice squad three days later.[13] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024.[14]
On November 9, 2024, Pili was waived by the Dolphins.
Personal life
[edit]Pili's younger sister, Alissa, plays basketball for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Brandon Pili". ESPN. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Helfand, Zach (August 27, 2017). "The final frontier of recruiting". The La Crosse Tribune. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Rodenberger, Jordan (August 30, 2023). "Brandon Pili becomes first Alaskan in NFL in nearly 10 years after making Miami Dolphins roster". KTUU-TV.
- ^ a b "Brandon Pili". USC Trojans.
- ^ a b Furones, David (May 23, 2023). "Undrafted DT's game has some Vea influence". South Florida Sun Sentinel. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b McKinney, Erik (April 29, 2023). "Brandon Pili Signs as Undrafted Free Agent with Miami Dolphins". On3.com.
- ^ McKinney, Erik (April 9, 2022). "Brandon Pili feels great after a long road back from injury". On3.com.
- ^ Sarney, Jason (May 11, 2023). "Dolphins Wire UDFA Player Profile: DL Brandon Pili". USA Today.
- ^ a b Williams, Van (April 29, 2023). "Pro Football: Undrafted yet undaunted, Brandon Pili's NFL dream stays alive with Miami deal". Alaska Sports Report. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ Trevino, Chris (August 30, 2023). "USC defensive lineman Brandon Pili makes Miami Dolphins roster as UDFA". 247Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Brandon Pili College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Zemek, Matt (April 29, 2023). "Brandon Pili signs UDFA deal with Miami Dolphins". Trojans Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ Masala, Mike (November 7, 2023). "Dolphins swap DL on the practice squad". Dolphins Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ "Miami Dolphins Sign 8 to Future Contracts". MiamiDolphins.com. January 15, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ Drew, Jay (January 17, 2023). "USC transfer Alissa Pili powers Utah women's basketball to new heights". Deseret News. Retrieved February 16, 2023.