A three-time first-team All-Big Ten pass rusher and Ohio State national champion who is still chasing his first NFL sack after a snap-limited rookie year.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau, known widely as J.T. Tuimoloau, was one of Ohio State's defining defenders on a national championship team before Indianapolis took him in the second round. A deep Colts defensive line rotation limited his rookie snaps, but he flashed real pass-rush ability when he was on the field.
Path to the league
The Colts selected Tuimoloau in the second round (45th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. A Seattle-area native who starred at Eastside Catholic High School, he called the pick a full-circle moment given his ties to Colts personnel with Ohio State roots.
Career highlights
Over four seasons at Ohio State, Tuimoloau recorded 144 tackles, 43.5 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks and three forced fumbles across 54 games. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022, 2023 and 2024, was a second-team All-American in 2023, and helped Ohio State win the 2024 national championship with a career-best 12.5 sacks that season.
2025 season recap
Tuimoloau played in 13 of 17 games as a rookie but was limited to roughly 18 percent of Indianapolis' defensive snaps behind veterans Laiatu Latu, Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam. He finished without a sack despite generating 15 quarterback pressures on 123 pass-rush snaps, a rate that ranked second-best on the Colts' defensive line.
Sources
- Wikipedia: JT Tuimoloau
- Pro Football Reference: JT Tuimoloau
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
13 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | colts | 13 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive End
- Group
- defense
- College
- Ohio State
- Hometown
- Edgewood, WA, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
