Offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai was drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016.
The TCU Horned Frogs are less than 100 days from kicking off the 2025 football season with a nonconference road matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels and new head coach Bill Belichick. As we count down the days until kickoff, we’ll highlight a former (or current) Horned Frog whose jersey number represents the number of days left until the opener.
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74 – Halapoulivaati Vaitai (Offensive Lineman – 2012-15)
Arriving at TCU from Haltom, Texas, Vaitai played in 42 games over his four year career with the Horned Frogs. Vaitai made 30 starts, primarily at the tackle position, while receiving Second-Team All-Big 12 honors twice during his time at TCU. Vaitai was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Vaitai became a Super Bowl champion in 2018, when Philadelphia beat New England 41-33 to win Super Bowl LII.
Vaitai played four seasons (2016 to 2019) for the Eagles and then signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Detroit Lions in March 2020. Over the course of his NFL career, Vaitai has played in 86 games and made 48 starts. Vaitai played tackle with the Eagles before kicking inside and playing guard for the Lions from 2020 to 2023.