Did Laiatu Latu play rugby? Inside Colts DL's unique journey to NFL

Laiatu Latu was taken 15th overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2024 NFL Draft and brings a rugby background to the NFL.

The star, who ended up being the first defensive pick in the draft dominated by offensive picks, will now have the responsibility of adding depth to the Colts' defense. And having played different kinds of contact sports, he will hope to put his cross-cutting skillset to good use.

Laiatu Latu grew up playing both football and rugby since his school days. And he revealed that when he was medically retired due to a severe neck injury that he suffered in his college football career, he went and played rugby.

Given a recovery time of between half-annum and a year, he chose to make good use of that time instead of sitting around, because he was medically prohibited from returning to football, by joining another contact sport in which he excelled.

Talking on The Rush with Maxx Crosby, he said:

“I go play rugby, though, two months after my surgery. Supposed to be a six-to-nine-month recovery but cuz I play rugby since 5th grade… that was just like a testimony to myself.”

It also gave him the confidence to return from surgery and see how he felt getting back into tackling in the middle of his recovery. Laiatu Latu added:

“Like I'm going to go out here to my roots cuz I know how to play but I'm going to go out here, tackle these dudes, see how I feel bro and like felt good. So, I was playing that for a certain amount of time, like a couple months.”

What was unexpected, though, for him was that a professional rugby team offered him a contract after inviting him to try out for them.

Given this was just two months after the neck surgery, when he had been advised against playing football, this was a great opportunity for the new Colts defender. He conceded his excitement:

“And then the head coach for the Seattle Seawolves, it's like a professional MLR (Major League Rugby) team, he called me up. I was like, ‘What? No way!’ and he wanted me to come down for a 3-day Camp.

"Did the 3-day camp and he wanted to sign me to their team. And this was like during the summer so this was like a couple months after they told me you can't play.”

Laiatu Latu still retained an interest in playing professional football and therefore had to turn the rugby contract down and just use is as a stress reliever during his recovery. He concluded:

“So.. he wanted to sign me. I was like, ‘Shoot… I'm sorry I wasted your time but like you know football's my passion, you know, and I appreciate you for letting me … come out here and do my thing.’ But like this just gives me another way to … release some stress or whatever.”

---

Laiatu Latu been a rugby prodigy since high school but he achieves NFL dream after Colts draft him

The professional contract that Laiatu Latu received from the rugby team should not have been a surprise. As he mentioned, he played the sport since high school and excelled at it.

Laiatu Latu has now achieved his dream of playing in the NFL, thanks to the Colts. They have shown trust in him even after many other teams were concerned because he missed one and a half seasons of college football with his neck injury.

Even though the future is bright for him in football, one expects rugby to remain close to his heart. When he had to medically retire from football, it was the other sport that gave his the confidence to come back and chase his NFL dreams.