Junior Tafuna

Timote "Junior" Maile Tafuna is an American football defensive tackle for the Utah Utes.

Early life and high school
Tafuna attended high school at Bingham. Coming out of high school, Tafuna was rated as a three star recruit, where he committed to play college football for the Utah Utes.

College career
In Tafuna's first collegiate season in 2020, he did not appear in any games for the Utes. In week eleven of the 2021 season, Tafuna notched a career high nine tackles in a win over Arizona. During the 2021 season, Tafuna had a breakout season totaling 33 tackles with five and a half being for a loss, four and a half sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection. For his performance on the 2021 season, Tafuna was named the PAC-12 defensive freshman of the year and was named second team all PAC-12. In the 2022 season, Tafuna started in all 14 games, notching 27 tackles with three and a half being for a loss, a sack, an interception, and a pass deflection, while once again being named second team all PAC-12. In week ten of the 2023 season, Tafuna recorded his first career forced fumble, which he also recovered against Oregon. In the 2023 season, Tafuna tallied 17 tackles with three being for a loss, a sack and a half, two pass deflections, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.