Oscar Lua
Encyclopedia
Oscar Lua is former American football
linebacker
. He was originally drafted by the New England Patriots
in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Southern California.
in Indio, California
. During his senior year he earned various awards and honors, including: 2001 Prep Star All-American; Max Emfinger All-American; Super Prep All-Farwest Defensive MVP; Prep Star All-Western Region; Tom Lemming All-West; Tacoma News Tribune Western 100; Cal-Hi Sports All-State Medium Schools first team; All-CIF Division VIII first team; Los Angeles Times All-Southern California first team; Los Angeles Times All-Desert/Mountain first team; Riverside Press-Enterprise All-Riverside County first team; and All-Desert Valley League Defensive MVP.
Despite missing three games with an injury in 2001, Lua made 148 tackles (88 solo) with three sacks while averaging 13 stops a game, plus had three interceptions (one returned for a TD), four fumble recoveries, six forced fumbles and scored twice on blocked punts. He also was an outfielder on Indio's baseball team, hitting .485 with 11 home runs in 2001 to earn All-League honors for the second consecutive season. He then went on to hit .456 with 28 RBIs in 2002.
at the University of Southern California
. He hoped to push for the starting middle linebacker job as a sophomore in 2003, but missed spring practice while recuperating from a knee injury suffered late in 2002. He eventually re-injured the knee, causing him to miss most of the 2003 season. However, he was able to redshirt because of the early-season injury.
In 2004, Lua was a backup linebacker and key special teams player. Overall, he appeared in all 13 games, making 13 tackles, including one for loss. He collected two stops against both Virginia Tech and Oregon State.
In 2005, Lua emerged from fall camp as the starting middle linebacker and did a commendable job. He appeared in 12 games (starting 11) and had a team-high 66 tackles to go along with one-half sack, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, one interception and two pass defenses. He was named 2005 All-Pac-10 honorable mention. On the season, Lua registered: three tackles at Hawaii; a team-best eight stops against Arkansas; another eight at Oregon; three tackles and an interception at Arizona State; a team-best 10 tackles against Arizona; 10 tackles and a pass defended at Notre Dame; seven stops at Washington; three tackles and a fumble recovery against Washington State; six tackles and a forced fumble against Fresno State; two tackles and a pass defended against UCLA; and six tackles and forced a fumble against Texas.
In his senior year in 2006, Lua was injured during the season-opener against Arkansas. The injury caused him to lose his starting job, which he was never able to re-acquire. After returning from injury, Lua finished the year with 36 tackles.
. He was placed on the team's injured reserve
list before the season. On February 26, 2008, he was waived by the Patriots.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
. He was originally drafted by the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Southern California.
Early years
Lua attended Indio High SchoolIndio High School
Indio High School is a public high school for grades 9-12. It is located in Indio, California and has a current enrollment of about 2,375 students. Its mascot is a Rajah . The school is part of the Desert Sands Unified School District. Indio High School has one of the largest student pupil...
in Indio, California
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
. During his senior year he earned various awards and honors, including: 2001 Prep Star All-American; Max Emfinger All-American; Super Prep All-Farwest Defensive MVP; Prep Star All-Western Region; Tom Lemming All-West; Tacoma News Tribune Western 100; Cal-Hi Sports All-State Medium Schools first team; All-CIF Division VIII first team; Los Angeles Times All-Southern California first team; Los Angeles Times All-Desert/Mountain first team; Riverside Press-Enterprise All-Riverside County first team; and All-Desert Valley League Defensive MVP.
Despite missing three games with an injury in 2001, Lua made 148 tackles (88 solo) with three sacks while averaging 13 stops a game, plus had three interceptions (one returned for a TD), four fumble recoveries, six forced fumbles and scored twice on blocked punts. He also was an outfielder on Indio's baseball team, hitting .485 with 11 home runs in 2001 to earn All-League honors for the second consecutive season. He then went on to hit .456 with 28 RBIs in 2002.
College career
Lua played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He hoped to push for the starting middle linebacker job as a sophomore in 2003, but missed spring practice while recuperating from a knee injury suffered late in 2002. He eventually re-injured the knee, causing him to miss most of the 2003 season. However, he was able to redshirt because of the early-season injury.
In 2004, Lua was a backup linebacker and key special teams player. Overall, he appeared in all 13 games, making 13 tackles, including one for loss. He collected two stops against both Virginia Tech and Oregon State.
In 2005, Lua emerged from fall camp as the starting middle linebacker and did a commendable job. He appeared in 12 games (starting 11) and had a team-high 66 tackles to go along with one-half sack, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, one interception and two pass defenses. He was named 2005 All-Pac-10 honorable mention. On the season, Lua registered: three tackles at Hawaii; a team-best eight stops against Arkansas; another eight at Oregon; three tackles and an interception at Arizona State; a team-best 10 tackles against Arizona; 10 tackles and a pass defended at Notre Dame; seven stops at Washington; three tackles and a fumble recovery against Washington State; six tackles and a forced fumble against Fresno State; two tackles and a pass defended against UCLA; and six tackles and forced a fumble against Texas.
In his senior year in 2006, Lua was injured during the season-opener against Arkansas. The injury caused him to lose his starting job, which he was never able to re-acquire. After returning from injury, Lua finished the year with 36 tackles.
Professional career
Lua was selected by the New England Patriots in the seventh round (211th overall pick) of the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. He was placed on the team's injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
list before the season. On February 26, 2008, he was waived by the Patriots.