KANSAS CITY, Mo. - San José State's Viliami Fehoko was selected in the fourth round, 129th overall, by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday. Fehoko, a defensive end from East Palo Alto, Calif., was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and led the Mountain West with 19 tackles for loss. Fehoko is the Spartans first draft pick since Josh Oliver was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft as SJSU had six alums play in the NFL last season.
"This is incredible for Junior, his family and our program," said head coach Brent Brennan. "A local kid who chose to come to San José State to pursue his education and chase his NFL dream and that's exactly what he's done. We are so happy and proud of him. Everybody in the Bay Area is proud of him and the Dallas Cowboys got an incredible competitor, playmaker and one of the most fun people to be around. Today is a great day for Junior and SJSU."
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Viliami Fehoko, DL, East Palo Alto, Calif./St. Francis HS
- Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Award (2022)
- Sporting News All-America Second Team (2022)
- All-Mountain West First Team Selection (2020, 21, 22)
- Ted Hendricks Award Finalist (top defensive end)
- PFF All-America Second Team (2022)
- Finished his career at SJSU with 191 tackles, 46 tackles for loss, 23 sacks and 14 pass deflections in 48 games played.
- He is second in SJSU history in tackles for loss (46), eighth in single-season tackles for loss (19) and fifth in career sacks (23).
- Led the MW and was fifth in the country with a career-high 19 tackles for loss and third in the league and 17th in the country with a career-high nine sacks in 12 games played in 2022.
- Also had a career-high 69 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection this season.
- Named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week (10/31/22) and East-West Shrine Defensive Player of the Week (10/17/22).
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