Frankie Luvu
![]() Luvu with the Washington Commanders in 2024 | |||||||||||||
No. 4 – Washington Commanders | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Tafuna, American Samoa | September 19, 1996||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Tafuna (Tafuna, American Samoa) | ||||||||||||
College: | Washington State (2014–2017) | ||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Frankie Luvu (/ˈluːvuː/ LOO-voo; born September 19, 1996) is an American professional football linebacker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). A native of American Samoa, he played college football for the Washington State Cougars before signing with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Luvu has also played for the Carolina Panthers.
Early life
[edit]Luvu was born on September 19, 1996, in Tafuna, American Samoa.[1] He moved to the United States in 2013 to play college football for the Cougars at Washington State University.[1]
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2+1⁄8 in (1.88 m) |
235 lb (107 kg) |
32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) |
9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) |
4.84 s | 1.70 s | 2.80 s | 4.26 s | 7.03 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) |
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
21 reps | |
All values from Pro Day[2][3] |
New York Jets
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Frankie_Luvu_%28cropped%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Frankie_Luvu_%28cropped%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Luvu was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2018.[4] He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[5][6] He was promoted to the active roster on September 8, 2018.[7] On October 14, 2019, Luvu was waived by the Jets and re-signed to the practice squad.[8] He was promoted to the active roster on November 1, 2019.[9] Luvu re-signed with the Jets on April 23, 2020.[10] He was placed on injured reserve on October 20, 2020, with a groin injury.[11] He was activated on November 21, 2020.[12]
Carolina Panthers
[edit]Luvu signed with the Carolina Panthers on March 23, 2021.[13] He entered the season as a backup linebacker and core special teamer. He played in 16 games with four starts, recording 43 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and a blocked punt.
On February 17, 2022, Luvu signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers.[14] On October 2, 2022, Luvu recorded his first career interception and touchdown against Kyler Murray in a loss against the Arizona Cardinals.[15] In 2023, Luvu was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 8 after recording 12 tackles, two for a loss, two pass breakups and a sack.[16]
Washington Commanders
[edit]On March 14, 2024, Luvu signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Washington Commanders.[17][18]
Statistics
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
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GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
2018 | NYJ | 14 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | NYJ | 13 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | NYJ | 13 | 3 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | CAR | 16 | 4 | 43 | 26 | 17 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | CAR | 15 | 14 | 111 | 76 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | CAR | 17 | 17 | 125 | 66 | 59 | 5.5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 8 | 39 | 338 | 212 | 126 | 20 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
Personal life
[edit]Of Samoan descent, Luvu is the youngest of eight children born to Veresa, former Fiji national rugby union team player, and Faaloiloia Luvu.[19][20] He was born a U.S. national due to the status of American Samoa and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August 2023.[1] Luvu's parents still live in American Samoa, with them attending their first NFL game in 2022.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Fowler, Scott (September 15, 2023). "Quizzes on a treadmill: The long journey to US citizenship for Panthers' Frankie Luvu". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "2018 Draft Scout Frankie Luvu, Washington State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Frankie Luvu 2018 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (May 4, 2018). "Jets Sign Seven Undrafted Free Agents". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ^ Lange, Randy (September 1, 2018). "Final Cutdown: Jets Reach 53-Player Active Roster". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (September 2, 2018). "Jets Sign Four Players to Their Practice Squad". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ^ Allen, Eric (September 8, 2018). "Jets Promote OLB Luvu to Active Roster, Waive FB Thomas". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (October 14, 2019). "Jets TE Chris Herndon Returns to Roster". NewYorkJets.com.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (November 1, 2019). "Jets Sign LB Frankie Luvu, Place LB Blake Cashman on IR". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (April 23, 2020). "Jets Sign 4 Exclusive Rights Free Agents". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (October 20, 2020). "Jets Place OLB Frankie Luvu on IR". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (November 21, 2020). "Jets Activate OLB Frankie Luvu from Injured Reserve, Place CB Bless Austin on IR". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (March 23, 2021). "Panthers sign linebacker Frankie Luvu". Panthers.com. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (February 17, 2022). "Panthers extend linebacker Frankie Luvu". Panthers.com.
- ^ "Cardinals 26-16 Panthers (Oct 2, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ Gordon, Grant (November 1, 2023). "Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
- ^ "Commanders sign LB Frankie Luvu". Commanders.com. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Alper, Josh (March 11, 2024). "Frankie Luvu agrees to sign with Commanders". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (March 24, 2021). "Signing with a heavy heart". Panthers.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "NFL Cougs: Erik Coleman loves what he's seeing from Frankie Luvu". 247sports. December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ Brown, DaShawn (December 16, 2022). "After traveling more than 5,000 miles, Frankie Luvu's father attends first NFL game". WSOC-TV. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1996 births
- Living people
- American football linebackers
- New York Jets players
- Players of American football from American Samoa
- Washington State Cougars football players
- People from Western District, American Samoa
- Carolina Panthers players
- Washington Commanders players
- American sportspeople of Samoan descent
- Pacific Islander American players of American football