Courtesy of Utah State
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State’s Hale Motu’apuaka has accepted an invitation to play in the 2024 Hula Bowl. The 78th Hula Bowl All-Star game will be held at FBS Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m. (MT). The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Motu’apuaka will be the 13th Aggie to play in the Hula Bowl and first since Gerold Bright in 2019. Other Aggies to play in the all-star game include Donald Penn (2006), Ben Holbrook (2000), Walter Fiefia (1999), Brandon Dyson (1998), Scott Parrish (1976), Phil Olsen (1970), Bill Staley (1968), Ron Sbranti (1966), Jim McNaughton (1964), Lionel Aldridge (1963) and Merlin Olsen (1962).
Motu’apuaka, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound defensive tackle from Honolulu, Hawaii (Punahou HS) earned honorable mention all-Mountain West honors this season as he has 32 tackles, which includes 3.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, to go along with four quarterback hurries. His 31 tackles are the most on the team by a defensive tackle and second most by a defensive lineman. Overall, he has posted at least two tackles in nine games this year.
For his career, Motu’apuaka ranks second all-time in school history with 57 career games played and eighth all-time in career starts with 39. In all, he has 114 career tackles, which includes 10.5 sacks and 22.0 tackles for loss.
Utah State (6-6, 4-4 MW) will play in its 11th bowl game in the past 13 seasons and its 17th bowl game in school history as it will face Georgia State (6-6, 3-5 SBC) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
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