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Meet Houston Texans linebacker Henry To'oTo'o, drafted in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Name: Henry To'oTo'o
Position: Linebacker
Height/Weight: 6-2/228
School: Alabama
Hometown: Sacramento, California
-His full name is Henry Moses Ito Iese To'oTo'o and he is half-Samoan, half-Tongan. His mom Rima is Tongan, his dad Iese is Samoan.
-Henry refers to his family as a party of 10. He is one of eight children.
-To'oTo'o grew up in south Sacramento and moved to Utah for two years before eventually going back to the Bay Area of California.
-His dad, offered a football scholarship to San Diego State, was Henry's childhood coach.
"He had a scholarship, but he had my brother at such a young age and decided to take care of my older brother," To'oTo'o said. "But, yeah he's just so smart, so knowledgeable. Like, he loves the game. He's always around it, always around different coaches and trying to gain knowledge from different people."
-To'oTo'o was one of the top five linebacker prospects in the country out of national powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord, California where he helped lead his school to a 12-1 record and a state championship appearance as a senior.
-He also starred at running back and finished his senior season with 489 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
-To'oTo'o began his college career at Tennessee where he spent two seasons (2019-20) and played in 23 games (22 starts). He was named a 2019 Freshman All-America by 247Sports and The Athletic and named to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore in 2020, To'oTo'o started all 10 games at weakside linebacker and led the Vols with 76 tackles and 10 tackles for loss, which was tied for fourth in the SEC.
-To'oTo'o then transferred to Alabama for two seasons (2021-22), where he played in 23 games (22 starts) and recorded 206 total tackles (98 solo), including 16 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble.
-He is the bloodied player that once infamously hugged Nick Saban and bloodied the head coach's cheek during an on-field interview.
-Last season, To'oTo'o earned 2022 first team All-SEC honors from the league coaches. He was also selected as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation's top linebacker and named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy.
-He will be reunited with former teammate and best friend, LB Christian Harris, drafted last year by the Texans
-To'oTo'o will wear No. 39 for the Texans
