Viliami Fehoko

Viliami Taopa Fehoko Jr. (born December 16, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State.

Early years
Born in Stanford and raised in East Palo Alto, California, Fehoko attended St Francis High School, where he played as a tight end. As a senior, he received All-West Coast Athletic League, Bay Area News Group first-team All-Bay Area and San Francisco Chronicle honorable-mention All-Metro honors.

He also was part of the East Palo Alto Razorbacks rugby club. On February 3, 2018, Fehoko committed to San Jose State University.

College career
As a true freshman in 2018, he was converted from a tight end into a defensive end. He appeared in 4 conference games, before being redshirted. He tallied 5 tackles, with three coming against the University of Wyoming.

As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he was named the starter at left defensive end, recording 44 tackles (3 for loss), one sack, and 4 pass deflections (tied for second on the team).

As a sophomore in 2020, the season was reduced to 8 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He started all 8 games, collecting 36 tackles (fifth on the team), 12.5 tackles for loss (led the conference), 6 sacks (second on the team), one pass deflection, and one fumble recovered. He had 6 tackles (2 for loss) and one sack against the University of New Mexico. He was named first-team All-Mountain West for the first time in his career.

As a junior in 2021, he started all 12 games, registering 37 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss (led the team), 6 sacks (led the team), 3 forced fumbles (led the team), and deflected six passes. He had 7 tackles against the University of Wyoming. He was named first-team All-Mountain West for the second time.

As a senior in 2022, he started in all 12 games, posting a career-high 69 tackles (third on the team), 19 tackles for loss (fifth in the nation), 9 sacks (led the team), two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one deflected pass. He had 7 tackles (3 for loss), one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery against Fresno State University. He made 12 tackles (4.5 for loss), 2 sacks and one forced fumble against the University of Nevada. He had 5 tackles (3 for loss) and two sacks against Colorado State University. He was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Mountain West for the third straight year.

He finished his career with 191 tackles, 46 tackles for loss (second in school history), 23 sacks (fifth in school history), 14 pass deflections, 5 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries in 48 games played.

Professional career
Fehoko was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. The Cowboys placed him on injured reserve with a knee injury on November 18, 2023. He was activated on January 3, 2024.

Personal life
Fehoko is a second cousin of NFL nose tackle Vita Vea. His father worked as a chef at a Bay Area restaurant that was owned by former NFL wide receiver Dwight Clark. He can speak Tongan and communicate in sign language.