Nacua in the NFL (Photo courtesy of ESPN).
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024, we will first cover Puka Nacua, one of the best rookies of the 2023–2024 NFL season. Fight me; I’m right.
Must I bring up the fact that Puka Nacua was in the Pro Bowl his first year in the NFL? He won the Best Catch competition by wakeboarding and catching a ball thrown by QB Jimmy Clausen. I voted for David Njoku’s catch, but we don’t have to get into the nitty-gritty details.
The Life and Times of Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua is the NFL’s sweetheart. He’s a 22-year-old kid with a permanent smile on his face; that would make anyone’s mother’s heart melt if they brought him home as a date.
Speaking of mothers, Nacua’s mother, Penina, gets all the praise. She raised five sweet, respectful boys and one girl in this world. Mrs. Nacua raised Samson, Puka, Isaiah, Tei, Kai, and the lone sister Chanel without their father after he passed away of diabetes when little Puka was 11.
Penina keeps her husband Lionel’s legacy alive in her sons. She was quoted as saying, “I always remind my kids to not let their dad’s death go in vain because he worked so hard for you guys.” America’s favorite family, folks.
Baby Puka
A fun fact about Puka Nacua is that Puka is not actually the Los Angeles Rams player’s first name. His actual name is Makea. Puka is the Samoan word for “fat” or “chubby” because he was a baby with a lot of squish. You couldn’t tell that now.
Nacua is Samoan, Hawaiian, and Portuguese. He was born in 2001 in Provo, Utah (or Las Vegas, depending on the source).
Puka’s Childhood
The Nacua family is a football family. Puka, of course, is in the NFL; his brothers Samson and Kai are playing in the UFL; and Tei, the youngest, committed to playing with BYU. Isaiah Nacua was signed by the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 but has not played a snap in the NFL. Chanel Nakua did some HR work in the Utah area, although she hasn’t kept her LinkedIn current.
Lionel Puka raised his boys with the vision in his mind that they would all attend BYU and then maybe more. He was Puka’s little league coach and taught his son how to break down film when he was itty-bitty. We don’t want Puka Nacua’s siblings to know, but his dad knew Puka was heading places, saying, “Puka is going to be the best one. Out of all my boys, he’ll be the best football player.”
Little Puka breathed, ate, and slept football. His brothers would opt for cartoons, and he would watch football highlights. We love to see the passion.
Puka Does College Differently
Puka Nacua did things a little differently than his family when it came to college. He actually played at the University of Washington for two seasons before transferring to BYU for his mother. We wouldn’t expect anything less from a Nacua son.
Puka Nacua Sweeps the NFL
Nicknamed “Stormin’ Mormon” by Travis Kelce, Puka Nacua has taken over the NFL. He was a pro bowler, as we mentioned before, so that says it all. He also set a record for the most receiving yards in a single playoff game by a rookie (181 yards), beating DK Metcalf of all wide receivers. He had 1,486 total receiving yards in his rookie season. What a powerhouse!
Another heart-melting fact about Puca Nakua? He cries before every NFL game because he is living his dream and his dad isn’t there to see him do it. I’m not crying; you’re crying.
We will be covering NFL players, past and present, all month in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. You can catch that content here, weekly. May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. Catch my article celebrating the occasion and highlighting AJ Dillon here.
