Isaac Sopoaga
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Career Summary
Isaac Sopoaga was an NFL defensive lineman who spent nine seasons with San Francisco before playing for Philadelphia and New England.
Sopoaga appeared in 139 regular-season games, totaling 208 tackles, 8.5 sacks and nine passes defensed. He also caught an 18-yard pass on a 2011 49ers offensive play.
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Early Life
Sopoaga grew up in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Sopoaga did not begin playing American football until age 17. A local high-school coach recruited him after visiting his family, and he quickly earned defensive player of the year recognition as a senior.
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High School
Sopoaga earned Defensive Player of the Year honors at Samoana High School.
At Samoana High in Pago Pago, he lettered in football and basketball and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He earned first-team all-league honors in his junior and senior seasons.
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College Career
Sopoaga set a junior-college sack record before becoming a two-time All-WAC lineman at Hawai‘i.
At College of the Canyons, Sopoaga recorded a national junior-college record 31 sacks in a season and was a two-time All-American. He then played at Hawai‘i, where he made second-team All-WAC in 2002 after 72 tackles, and he later became a two-time All-WAC selection.
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Path to the NFL
San Francisco selected Sopoaga 104th overall in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
The 49ers drafted Sopoaga after he had played only about five years of American football, beginning a nine-season run with the franchise.
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NFL Career
Sopoaga played nine seasons for the 49ers and finished his NFL career with Philadelphia and New England.
Sopoaga appeared in every game from 2005 through 2010 except for one 2006 absence, then played 15 games in each of 2011 and 2012. He started seven of eight games for Philadelphia in 2013 before a trade sent him to New England.
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Career Accomplishments
Sopoaga developed from a fourth-round draft choice into one of San Francisco's longest-tenured defensive linemen.
In 2009, Sopoaga set career highs with 69 tackles and 16 starts. In 2010, 49ers coverage listed him among the team's longest-tenured players and a starting defensive tackle.
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Playing Style
Sopoaga was a large interior defender used primarily on base downs.
The 49ers described Sopoaga as a 6-foot-2, 330-pound starting defensive tackle featured primarily in base personnel. His role emphasized interior play and early-down defensive work.
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Legacy
Sopoaga's path from American Samoa to a long NFL career made him a notable Hawai‘i and 49ers alumnus.
Hawai‘i lists Sopoaga as a two-time All-WAC player and fourth-round NFL selection. The 49ers reported that he stayed in San Francisco in part because it kept him close to his family and team community.
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20691, 00-0022863, 1981-09-04, Isaac Sopoaga, Isaac, Sopoaga
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