Not only does Hurcules Mata'afa's name stand out on the field, but so does his his play on the field.
Just getting to the state playoffs in any high school sport is tough, but for Hercules Mata'afa he not only made the playoffs but he was a back-to-back state champion runner-up in the Hawaii high school finals for wrestling. The redshirt freshman defensive tackle wrestled at the 215-pound weight class but gave up the sport his senior year to focus on football.
In an article with Stefanie Loh of The Seattle Times, Hercules gives praise to his wrestling workouts for helping him improve and become one of the best young defensive lineman in the game, "I think wrestling is a good sport for football because it (trains) a lot of leverage and hip work.