Cowboys selected Notre Dame LB Marist Liufau with the No. 87 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

27 April 2024

A native of the Island of Oahu, Liufau (6'2/234) is the latest in a long line of Hawaiian-born players who went onto the NFL. He redshirted as a freshman in 2019 but managed to draw three starts in 10 games during the pandemic shortened season. He was set for a full-time starting role in 2021 when he sustained an ankle injury that cost him the entire campaign. Fortunately Liufau returned better than ever in 2022, racking up 95 tackles with 4 PBU with just 102 receiving yards allowed in coverage over the last two seasons. An 85.4 PFF cover grade ranked sixth overall among all Power Five linebackers while his 25 pressures ranked 15th among his P5 contemporaries. While he ran a solid 4.64s 40-yard dash (81st%) and 4.18s shuttle run (92nd%), his jumping and bench portions of Combine testing were sub-25th percentile marks for a 5.64 RAS. Liufau plays with a frenetic pace and is hungry to make plays, but is often left out of position in his run fits as a result. He profiles as a core special-teamer who rotates in defensively on passing downs.