Kea‘au High School alumnus Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens as the No.22 pick of the sixth round (199th overall).
The 6’6, 320-pound offensive tackle played four seasons at the University of Oregon, where he was a Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention for the 2022 season.
Prior to joining the Ducks’ roster, Aumavae-Laulu played two seasons for Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas — where he was named the nation’s top junior college lineman by JCGridiron.com.
Aumavae-Laulu spent his childhood near Anchorage, Alaska before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to play football for Liberty High School — where he was a second-team all-state selection as a junior and senior.
After his third football season at Liberty, he moved with his family to Kea‘au — where he spent a season throwing shot put and discus for the Cougars’ track and field team, held his Navarro signing event and received his high school diploma spring of 2017.
Aumavae-Laulu’s football career began in Pop Warner at nine years old.
His mother, Helen, said that because of his massive stature, she always carried his birth certificate to games and practices.
“Some of the parents were like ‘no way man, that kid is in high school,’” she said. “I’d be like ‘no, he’s actually in middle school, here’s the birth certificate.’”
Malaesala’s younger brother, Folagi Aumavae-Laulu, played football and track and field for Kea‘au HS — and has since gone on to play football for Garden City Community College in Kansas and Mt. San Antonio College in California.
The brothers spent their youth training with their uncle, Junior Aumavae, a former Indoor Football League player and Dallas Cowboys practice squad member — who runs a training program in Indiana called Elite Athletic Trend.
On the Ravens, Aumavae-Laulu will join wide receiver Zay Flowers (round one, pick 22), linebacker Trenton Simpson (round three, pick 23), edge rusher Tavius Robinson (round four, pick 22), cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly (round five, pick 22) and gaurd Andrew Vorhees (round seven, pick 12).
Aumavae-Laulu received a 5.67 prospect grade and a 62 overall score by the Next Gen Stats Draft Model — with a 70 athleticism score and a 54 production score, ranking 21st in the OT Combine.
NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein described Aumavae-Laulu as a “powerful lineman whose lack of instincts and technique could make him a candidate for the practice squad as the jump-off point for his career.”
Zierlein added that Aumavae-Laulu’s “odds of roster success will be much higher at the guard position, where he has enough athletic ability and power to potentially fit a wide variety of run schemes while creating better matchups for him in protection.”