Professional athletes have to make sacrifices to get to where they are and for 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga, that meant giving up social media.
Speaking with former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman on the "Richard Sherman Podcast" on Wednesday, Hufanga explained why he gave up social media in college at the request of Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu.
"So I get on the phone with him and as a young kind, I'm still 17 by the way, I'm asking him, 'What can I do to be a better safety?' " Hufanga told Sherman.
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Instead of answering outright, Polamalu told Hufanga that he needs to work on his character, despite the two never formally meeting one another.
"We sit down, we come up with a list of things to do and I'm just like, 'Dang, I just want to play football,' " Hufanga recalled. "One of those things was we got to delete social media for all of college."
At first, Hufanga was incredulous, especially considering that USC had a massive social media footprint and would do wonders for his brand recognition. Polamalu then said that if Hufanga wants his help, the 22-year-old had to be all in, which he was.
The second-year NFL safety said that he did not go on, use, or download any social media apps during his time at USC out of respect for Polamalu's wishes.
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"But listening to a guy that did it at the highest level and was a Hall of Famer, I was like, 'I got to listen to him,' " Hufanga added. "He's done so many things in this game to change this game but also is a great person, it would be stupid of me not to listen."
The two created a close bond and after declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft, Hufanga reached out to Polamalu again in hopes that the latter would train and prepare him for what was to come.
Hufanga told Polamalu that he had done everything that was asked of him, much to the Hall of Famer's surprise. Upon hearing that, Polamalu agreed to train Hufanga.
"For me, I respected him, I still do to this day, like anything he says, I really take it to heart. And I truly want to be the best version of myself on the field," Hufanga concluded.
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So far, Hufanga has done well to live up to the best version of himself, constantly getting compared to Polamalu. To his credit, Hufanga has been incredibly humble whenever the comparisons do arise.
And though Hufanga sacrificed being without social media in college, the extra work is paying dividends at the highest level.
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