Tatupu was born in San Diego, California[1] and graduated in 2001 from King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, Massachusetts, where he played quarterback and linebacker in his junior and senior year.

His high school coach was his father Mosi Tatupu, a fullback and special teamer who played for the New England Patriots.

Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell, who used two fourth-round picks to move up nine spots in the draft to get him, took some criticism for trading up for Tatupu, who was considered slightly undersized and a little slow.

Tatupu quickly established himself as one of the top defensive players in the league as a rookie in 2005, in which he was named to the Pro Bowl, while leading the NFC Champion Seahawks in tackles, with 104, en route to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

He also had four sacks and three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown in Seattle's 42-0 Monday Night Football victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"[5] On October 19, 2009, during a game versus the Arizona Cardinals, Tatupu tore his left pectoral muscle after a collision with teammate Deon Grant and was ruled out for the rest of the season, a huge loss to the already ailing Seahawks.

[9] On July 24, 2012, Tatupu suffered a torn pectoral and would miss the entire 2012 NFL season.

[10] [11] The Seahawks announced on February 9, 2015, that Tatupu would be joining Pete Carroll and new defensive coordinator Kris Richard's staff as assistant linebacker coach.

He is the son of the late former USC Trojan and New England Patriots fullback Mosi Tatupu, and first cousin of former NFL linebacker Joe Tuipala.