7/10/2023 football Edit

BeaversEdge Top 25 For 2023: No. 17 Sione Lolohea

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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In the months leading up to the start of fall camp, BeaversEdge.com will be counting down the Top 25 Oregon State football players on the 2023 roster.

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No. 17 Sione Lolohea

Bio

No. 90

6-foot-3, 263-pounds

Defensive Lineman

Junior

Aquinas (CA) HS

Houma Tukulalo Vava'u, Tonga

2022 Stats: Played in 12 games (seven starts) - Totaled 33 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and four quarterback hurries.

2022 Recap

After playing in just eight games and recording seven tackles as a freshman in 2021, Lolohea had his coming out party for Oregon State in 2022 as he played in 12 games and finished with 33 tackles, six TFLs, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and four QB hurries.

Lolohea's tenacity and motor jumped off the screen in 2022 as he plays the game with a fiery passion, a passion that defensive coordinator Trent Bray said last season that he loves to see.

Lolohea never seemed to take a play off and had a knack for being in the opposing backfield, finishing with the fourth-most tackles for loss and third-most sacks on the roster. With Lolohea accomplishing that in just his sophomore campaign, there's a real optimism that he could improve even more in his junior campaign and make OSU's pass rush and defensive line more effective.

Per PFF, Lolohea was the second-highest graded defensive lineman in '22, finishing with an overall defensive grade of 71.3, which trailed DL leader Isaac Hodgins who tallied a 71.5.

For his efforts in 2022, Lolohea was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 Fourth Team...

2023 Outlook

Heading into the 2023 campaign, there's a real belief that this could be Lolohea's best season to date...

After breaking out as a sophomore in 2022 with disruptive, hard-nosed play along the defensive line, I'm looking for Lolohea to even further his production this season and help lead a resurgence of Oregon State's defensive line.

The DL unit is shaping up to be the best its been in the Jonathan Smith era and Lolohea's emergence is a huge part of it. Lolohea figures to team up with Joe Golden, Isaac Hodgins, and James Rawls as the top defensive line options once the season comes around.

Look for Lolohea to increase his production this season and be a disruptor on the defensive line, regularly working his way into the backfield... Last season was Lolohea's breakout, but his ceiling is still very high and I expect he'll smash the preseason expectations and have an even better 2023 campaign...