Heritage, BYU alumnus Takitaki drafted by NFL Browns

Sione Takitaki, shown here closing in for a tackle against UMass, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns Friday. Photo courtesy of byucougars.com

Sione Takitaki, a two-way football star at Heritage High School in 2012-13 and most recently a standout linebacker at BYU, on Friday became the first Patriots alumnus ever drafted by a National Football League team.

Takitaki, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. He was the 80th overall pick and just the second pick by the Browns. Takitaki also was only the fifth linebacker picked overall through the first three rounds.

"I am very excited for Sione," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said on the BYU website Friday. "He will fit perfectly with his talents in Cleveland with a really good coaching staff. Sione is a versatile athlete and really took advantage of his experience playing three different positions for us. He will just continue to get better."

Photo courtesy of byucougars.com

Takitaki led the Cougars with 118 total tackles last fall, ranking 31st in the nation. He finished his BYU career with 143 solo and 237 total tackles and 14.5 sacks.

"A really physical, exciting player," Browns assistant general manager Eliot Wolf told clevelandbrowns.com. "Plays super hard every play. He can run, can cover and can blitz. He [also] played defensive end last year so he has some pass rush to him. We are really excited and fortunate to get him here with this pick."

Takitaki was one of the leading players of a Heritage High team that won the program's first CIF championship in 2013, beating Rancho Verde, 34-33. He led the team with 74 solo tackles that season in addition to rushing for 823 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The fact that Takitaki is the first graduate of the program to be drafted by the NFL was not a big surprise to Patriots coach Kraig Broach.

"I always knew he was special," Broach told Menifee 24/7 Friday night. "Our coaches had goosebumps when we heard the news today."

Broach said he has kept in touch with Takitaki and has traveled to BYU to see him play. He last talked to him a couple weeks ago, during a busy time as Takitaki traveled around the country to display his talents to NFL teams.

"It's surreal to have a guy in our program go to the NFL," Broach said. "Sione always had a good heart. To see him get his life together and to watch him mature as a player and a person is pretty special. When you go to BYU, you have to live up to their standards, their code of conduct. BYU was not Sione's only choice. He could've gone somewhere else where it would be easier to acclimate, but he was well aware of what he was getting into."

Takitaki was the first of several Heritage High graduates to continue their careers at BYU, including Marvin and Aleva Hifo. He becomes the first BYU player ever drafted by the Browns. He was a team captain last fall and had a monster game in the Cougars' 49-18 bowl game victory over Western Michigan with 19 tackles.

"What makes me a great linebacker is that I play inside or outside," Takitaki told clevelandbrowns.com. "I am willing to come in and fit in wherever the coaches need me and where the team needs me. I am pretty comfortable playing both.

"If I had to play outside linebacker and set the edge here and there or play inside linebacker where you could flow and make plays left and right or being in charge of the defense and things like that, I feel comfortable doing both. I feel like that is what makes me a unique linebacker."

In addition to his great defense, Takitaki excelled at running back at Heritage, which he led to a CIF title in 2013. File photo