Nuku Mafi
*Click on name for official Purdue Bio
Bio
Position: Tackle
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 330
Hometown: Rose Park, Utah
High School: West (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Recruiting Class: 2024
Former Team: Oklahoma State
Eligibility Remaining: 3 Seasons – Redshirt Sophomore
High School Recruiting Rankings: 3*(85.79) – National Rank: 1067 – Interior Offensive Line Rank: 100
Transfer Portal Rankings: 3*(86) – National Rank: NR – Tackle: 91
High School
- Started 31 high school games
- Played offensive and defensive line
- Credited with 42 pancake blocks in 2003
- 2024 High School Polynesian Bowl selection
- Considered the 8th best player in Utah for the 2024 class by 247 Sports
- Signed with Oklahoma State over offers from Nebraska, USC and Utah
High School Highlights
College Career
2024 – Oklahoma State – Freshman
- Redshirt
2025 – Oklahoma State – RS Freshman
- Started 12 / 12 games (11 at left tackle, 1 at right tackle)
- Logged 791 snaps in 2025 and was only flagged for 1 penalty
2026 – Season Outlook
Starter – Right Tackle
College Interviews
Note: I highly recommend the above video. Lots of good information on Nuku
and the offensive line as a group in a 4 minute clip.
Thoughts
I feel like Mafi flew a little under the radar in terms of transfer portal pickups because he wasn’t highly rated as a transfer. Purdue has to be better on the offensive line, and they managed to pull a Big 12 starting tackle with 3 years of eligibility remaining; that’s a home run in my book. Granted, he played on an Oklahoma State team that Purdue would have been favored over last season. Perhaps part of their problem stemmed from having to start a redshirt freshman at left tackle?
Physically, he looks the part of a mauling right tackle, but he played all but the opener at left tackle for the Cowboys out of necessity. According to Pro Football Focus, his best games of the season came against Texas Tech and Kansas State. That tracks, as Oklahoma State was one of the two games in which star Red Raider defensive end David Bailey didn’t record a sack. To be fair to David, I didn’t watch the game, but I’m going to guess he spent the majority of the second half by one of the air conditioning units watching the blowout. I’m not sure I can stress enough how bad Oklahoma State was last season. Ryan Walters watched them play and thought, “You know, at least I wasn’t this bad.”
Regardless, landing a starting-caliber tackle in the portal is a chore, and Purdue managed to snag a guy who received an initiation by fire into the world of college football last season. Oklahoma State invested a season of development into Nuku, and Purdue should reap the benefits. Not only does he provide the Boilermakers with an instant starter at right tackle, but he also provides crucial depth at left tackle, where presumed starter Joey Tanona is coming off shoulder surgery that caused him to miss spring practice. In a perfect world, Nuku stays on the right side, but as we know, the world of college football is often cruel and capricious. Having a guy with starting experience at left tackle available in a pinch is a luxury, and one of the reasons I think he’s an underrated pick up for Barry Odom.
I like Nuku as both a short-term and (hopefully) long-term solution for the Boilermaker offensive line.
