Levine Toilolo

Levine Toilolo is a tight end for the Atlanta Falcons who began his career at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, California. A tall and strong player, he was a grueling tight end  that was highly scouted during his high school career. Many independent publications rated him as one of the top tight ends in the nation. Rivals.com stated that he was the fourth-best in the nation while SuperPrep said he was the fifth best.

During his career, he was a first team all-state Division II tight end pick and also earned first team All-Grossmont League honors as both as tight end and as a defensive end. His success led to him being very highly pursued by a number of high-quality universities.

College Career

After his busy high school career, Toilolo was recruited by Stanford in 2009, but did not play until his sophomore year. Playing very limited time due in this year due to injury, he still made a single catch for 27 yards. ‍His junior year of 2011 saw him play 13 total games to pick up 25 catches for 343 yards to average 13.7 yards. This was his highest scoring year with six touchdowns.

His senior year, he played 14 games, caught 24 passes for 393 yards with an average of 16.4 yards and four touchdowns. Scouts were particularly impressed by Toilolo's size and strength when picking up extra yardage during his college career. His college highlights can be found here. 

NFL Draft

Entering the NFL draft in 2013, Toilolo was a 6'8" and 260 pound tight end who ended up rated a total of 66.00 based on his combine score. His 40 time was 4.86, his 20 time 2.83, his vertical jump 31-inches, his 20 shuffle time 4.57, his three-cone drill 7.09, while he benched 225 pounds 17 times. On pro day, he improved his presses to 19 and his vertical jump to 33 and one-half inches from 31-inches.

These combine totals were solid enough to intrigue the Atlanta Falcons to draft him in the fourth round for the 133rd overall pick. He signed a four-year contract with the Falcons for $2,460,584 with a $300,584 signing bonus. His base salary in 2016 was $1,671,000 and he will be a free agent in 2017.

NFL Career To Date

As a tight end, Toilolo has been consistent under the direction of quarterback Matt Ryan. In his rookie season of 2013, he played all 16 games and had 11 receptions. His yard totals were fairly low (55) though he did score two short touchdowns. In 2014, he had a career-high 31 receptions for 238 yards, picking up just under eight yards per catch and scoring two touchdowns.

His 2015 season saw him catch just seven passes for a total of 44 yards. It was the first season of his professional career in which he scored no touchdowns. However, he has been a major part of the 2016-17 success of hte Falcons and their run to the Super Bowl. With just 13 catches, he has picked up 264 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-high 46-yarder. His NFL highlights can be found here.

Personal Life

Toilolo is regarded as a somewhat quiet "gentle giant" by those who know him. His Twitter account gives a good insight into his life. His personal quote is "Keep it simple. Love God, my family, and my friends. Most of his posts are congratulatory ones aimed at his team, though his 2016 tweets have been heavily focused on the Falcons exciting run to the Super Bowl.