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2018 Mountain West Football 50 Best Players: #17, Hawaii LB Jahlani Tavai
Hawaii’s veteran linebacker is next on our countdown of Mountain West football’s top 50 players.
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Tavai’s last collegiate chapter could be memorable.
The countdown of Mountain West football’s best players heads back to the Hawaiian islands one more time this year, as linebacker Jahlani Tavai, the highest-ranked Hawaii Warrior, returns to the top 50 at #17.
Tavai continued to excel throughout 2017, racking up 124 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and an interception for a unit that ultimately ranked just outside the top 50 nationally in Havoc Rate (percentage of plays with a TFL, forced fumble, pass defended). For his efforts, he landed on the second-team all-Mountain West defense.
He heads into 2018 as a senior, with 26 consecutive starts (and 37 starts altogether) under his belt. There’s a decent chance he leaves Hawaii as its all-time leading tackler, too, with just 125 tackles between him and Solomon Elimimian. The Warriors might be retooling their defensive line and secondary, but don’t miss out on watching Tavai’s last run through the conference.
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