After BYU
Tonga was drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He has had stints in the NFL with the Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals.
BYU Highlights
- Tonga helped the Cougars to an 11-1 record in his final season. He finished his college career with 130 total tackles, 69 solo tackles, 7.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, five quarterback hits and 12 pass breakups.
- After a strong junior season where he made 45 tackles, Tonga was expected to be an NFL draft prospect, but announced he would return for his senior season.
Personal
- Read about the adversity Khyiris faced early in his life and his transformation in this Sports Illustrated piece.
- Tonga served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wichita, Kansas.
Before BYU
- A three-star athlete by ESPN
- Played both offense and defensive line in addition to tight end
- Played rugby
- Named All-Region 2 First-Team as a freshman
- Coached by Cecil Thomas
- Also recruited by Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona State and Oregon State
| Career | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Misc | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | SOLO | AST | TOT | TFL/YDS | NO | YDS | INT | YDS | TD | FF | FR | FRYDS | QBH | PBU |
| 2020 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 2.5 / 15 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 2019 | 13 | 28 | 17 | 45 | 4 / 18 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2018 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 4.5 / 20 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 4 / 17 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| TOTALS: | 50 | 69 | 61 | 130 | 15 / 70 | 5 | 47 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 5 | 12 |