Iese Puni brings transfer toughness and playmaking juice to UT Martin’s linebacker room
Iese Puni is a 6-foot-2, 250-pound senior linebacker who showed real impact in the 2025 season at UT Martin, appearing in 12 games with 26 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, a half-sack, a forced fumble, and two quarterback hurries. He stands out more as a physical, disruptive front-seven piece than a pure stat-stuffer, with prior production at West Georgia (50 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 2 sacks in 2024) suggesting he can flash downhill violence and backfield range. He looks like a steady, experienced fit for a defense that wants toughness, effort, and some snap-to-snap edge.
