Auburn football player named to Polynesian Player Of the Year watch list

The Auburn football team has a lot of players making a lot of different preseason watch lists this year, and a lot of those players are newcomers to the Plains. When head coach Hugh Freeze was hired last December, he knew there was a lot of work to be done on the Tigers’ roster and he went to work in the transfer portal to bring in more guys.

Earlier this week, another one of the Tigers’ recent transfers has been named to a watchlist. Defensive lineman transfer Mosiah Nasili-Kite has been named to the 2023 Polynesian Football Player of the Year watchlist.

A graduate transfer who previously played for Maryland, Nasili-Kite racked up 83 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and nine sacks over three seasons as a Terrapin and is expected to have an instant impact in his first season with Auburn football.

About the Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award

The Polynesian Football POY Award “recognizes the most outstanding Polynesian football player that epitomizes great ability and integrity” according to their official website. The award is given to one high school, one college, and one professional football player every year.

Created in 2014, the award was given only to a college football player until it was expanded in 2015 to recognize a professional player and then again in 2017 to recognize a high school player.

The watchlist is made up of 85 athletes from 40 FBS schools, based on past performance and future potential. The award finalists and the winner will be chosen by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Finalists will be announced on November 30 and the winner will be announced on December 14.

Which Auburn football players have won the award?

The award is very new, having only been established in 2014, so no Auburn football players have won before. Notable winners from the past few years include Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in 2014 and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa in both 2018 and 2019.