Football is in his DNA
The NFL is nothing new to Epenesa’s family. His cousin is Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, who is a defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons. While happy to be with the Bills, Epenesa did talk to the Falcons’ team website about potentially playing with his cousin during the pre-draft process.
“I grew up with him, it would be great to have the opportunity to play together. Growing up together, playing football, it’s kind of a dream of ours but it would be really cool if we have that opportunity,” Epenesa said.
His cousin spends time back-and-forth between the Falcons roster and practice squad, so hopefully the two can eventually link as opponents one team in the future. Or hey, maybe teammates in Orchard Park?
In addition to his cousin, there’s another football connection in-house, literally. Why did Epenesa go to Iowa? His dad, Eppy Epenesa, was a big reason why. He was also a defensive lineman for the Hawkeyes. Eppy walked on, made the team, and eventually landed a scholarship himself. Iowa football ran deep for the Epenesas.
CBS Sports actually did a feature on it in November. Check it out here:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RPb-XBQdJk&w=560&h=315]