What are the stories behind OU football players' tattoos? Dillon Gabriel, Sooners explain
NORMAN — Getting permanent artwork on your body isn’t generally an impulsive decision.
But Jonah Laulu doesn’t exactly fall in line with what other people want him to be.
“You can’t just be like everybody else,” Laulu said. “I feel like trying to be like everybody else is just tiring — exhausting.”
Laulu took that approach with his first tattoo as well.
Laulu, who is half-Black and half-Samoan, went to Las Vegas in May and came back with a nearly full sleeve on his left arm nodding to his Polynesian heritage.
“It’s funny because I never actually wanted a tattoo,” Laulu said. “It was really just an impulsive decision.”
An impulsive decision that took him a total of around 28 hours over the course of three days.
The first session lasted longer than 12 hours, then seven, then another eight-hour session to finish off the piece.
Though he had never gotten a tattoo, Laulu enjoyed the drawn-out experience.
“We were listening to Usher, he had an Usher playlist going,” Laulu said. “We took a couple breaks and he showed me some food out there in Vegas.
“Just spent the time just talking and just talking about life. I like hearing about people’s lives.”
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Laulu’s tattoo artist certainly had plenty to tell.
Taumaoe Notise, known as Tama or the “Redneck Uso,” certainly knows about the Polynesian heritage Laulu wanted to highlight with his tattoo.
“Uso” means “brother” in Samoan.
Notise was born on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, grew up in Las Vegas and now owns Kulture Ink, a tattoo shop in Las Vegas.
For Laulu, who is from Las Vegas and spent his first four years of college at Hawaii, the shop was a perfect fit. Just like the tattoo proved to be.
While Laulu doesn’t plan on being done with football anytime soon, he’s worked over the last few years to make the sport less of his identity, including pursuing his master’s degree in business analytics and learning the Python programming language.
“When you step on the football field, you’re whatever the game is — football — then off the field you just do what you like to do because football is not for long,” Laulu said.
“That’s not going to be who you are for the rest of your life. You can’t play football until you’re 40 unless you’re like Tom Brady or someone like that. It’s just not realistic, so you’ve got to have that second play or what you like to do outside of football.”
While football might fade away as a part of Laulu’s identity, his Samoan heritage won’t go away.
That’s why Laulu didn’t have a problem spending more than a full day getting inked.
“It fits me well I’d say,” Laulu said.
Tattoos can offer a deep look into someone’s personality — about things or people that are important to them.
Here’s a look at several other Sooners’ tattoos:
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Nic Anderson
Anderson has a definite theme in his burgeoning sleeve on his arm.
The sophomore from Katy, Texas, has a love of anime.
“It was back in junior high before it was cool,” Anderson said of when his love of anime developed. “I just didn’t tell anybody.”
He, Jonah Laulu, Jacob Lacey, Adepoju Adebawore and other teammates regularly discuss their favorite anime series.
“I think it’s just a whole different side of storytelling,” Anderson said of why he appreciates the format.
Anderson has an “003” tattooed on his arm, referencing the series Ajin.
Right now, his two favorite series are “Attack on Titan” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.”
Not all of Anderson’s tattoos are anime-based.
He and his brothers — former Sooner Rodney and former Ole Miss standout Ryder — got matching tattoos right before Nic left home to go to OU.
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Dillon Gabriel
Like Jonah Laulu, Gabriel’s left arm includes a large piece nodding to his Polynesian heritage.
But Gabriel said the most meaningful art on his body is the first one he got.
In Roman numerals, Gabriel has “January 15, 1969” tattooed on the inside of his throwing arm.
“It’s my mom’s birthday,” Gabriel said. “We always make a joke because of my mom’s twin sister, I also have my auntie’s birthday.”
Gabriel also has his last name with a butterfly, a portrait of Jesus and a rosary.
“I got them my sophomore year during Covid and finished them my junior year,” Gabriel said.
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McKade Mettauer
On the inside of the Sooners’ offensive lineman’s left arm is an outline of the state of Texas with a cross inside.
That’s no surprise for the native of The Woodlands, Texas, who grew up in a Baptist household.
How Mettauer came about having the tattoo is the interesting part.
Mettauer had committed to California and was soon set to leave for the West Coast when he went to a Five Finger Death Punch concert with his parents.
Afterward, he went with his parents and his cousin, Hope, to get the tattoo.
“I was a Texas guy and I wanted to bring that out there with me. I wanted to show everybody,” Mettauer said. “I’m also a Christian and grew up in a Baptist home, so I outlined this and my mom said, ‘You’re going to be in Texas and Jesus is with you,’ so that’s why she let me have it.
“Otherwise, she would’ve said, ‘No tattoos.’”
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Woodi Washington and Key Lawrence
The two Tennessee products have matching tattoos behind their ears — ”1L4L.”
The One Love For Life tattoos highlight the connection the two have developed.
It’s far from the only close relationship in Washington’s life that he’s honored with a tattoo.
He has others that include the names of a large group of family members, including his mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandmother, two brothers and two cousins.
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Isaiah Coe
Right after spring football last year, the Sooners’ defensive lineman got a tattoo on his left hand reading “1 of 1.”
“I just like the pride of saying there’s nobody else like me,” Coe said. “I try to really just be myself.”
While that tattoo is about individualism, Coe also has several that link him back to his family, including the A4 tattoo behind his left ear.
Coe and his brothers all have a name beginning with “A” — Coe’s middle name is “Amir.”
He has another that says “No risk, no reward.”
Coe took plenty of chances, making his way from the Chicago area to Iowa Western Community College to OU, where he had to sit behind Perrion Winfrey — who Coe played with in Iowa.
“I never questioned why I was here,” Coe said. “I never questioned anything. I just always had faith that I know I can do this. Not to necessarily say that I was doubted in my life, but nobody ever believed that I would get this far.”
Coe has started each of the Sooners’ last three games and has 11 tackles.
Coe credits the messages he has tattooed on his body with helping him get to where he’s at.
“Trust who you are as a person and just be you,” Coe said.
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Drake Stoops
The meaning of the tattoo on the Sooners’ wide receiver’s left arm isn’t immediately noticeable.
The tattoo reads “This too shall pass” in Hebrew.
“My mom used to give me this passage — the three wise men gave King Solomon a ring and it said, ‘This too shall pass,’” Stoops said.
For Stoops, it’s a message to stay grounded in both bad times and good.
“Whenever you get too high, you always humble yourself, bring yourself back down to earth,” Stoops said. “And whenever you get too low, always remember ‘This too shall pass.’”
It’s just as much about the good as it is the bad.
“People always forget (thinking) that it’s just the bad things that’ll pass but even the highs of life will pass too,” Stoops said.
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Tawee Walker
Under his left ear, the OU running back has a “K” with a crown over it.
The tattoo honors Walker’s 2-year-old son, Kingston.
Walker, his girlfriend and their then-newborn son moved to San Marcos, California, so Walker could chase his football dreams.
Walker eventually earned a walk-on offer with the Sooners, and the trio now lives in Norman.
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Danny Stutsman and Jaren Kanak
The linebacking duo got matching “Horns Down” tattoos in the wake of OU’s win over Texas last weekend.
Though Monday, Stutsman claimed the ink was fake.
“As you guys can see, there’s nothing there,” Stutsman said, pulling up the left leg on the shorts. “We got ya.”
The problem?
It was clear from the photos he posted on social media that the tattoo was on his right leg.
When called out on that, Stutsman tried to stick with his story.
“It actually mirrors it,” Stutsman said. “When you take a picture, it flips it.”
But there was text in at least one photo that made it clear it wasn’t flipped.
When asked to show his other leg, Stutsman protested.
“I’m not gonna pull up my pants,” he said with a laugh. “You guys are asking a lot.”
But Stutsman said — hypothetically, of course — that IF he had a Horns Down tattoo on his leg that it being right side up as he looked down at his legs wouldn’t be a problem.
“You look down, you see the Horns Up and you instantly want to work out, get a lift in, be productive with your day, and it really just reminds you of the history of it,” Stutsman said. “I don’t mind if it was permanent.”
OU vs. UCF
KICKOFF: 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Owen Field in Norman (ABC)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football players explain what is the meaning behind their tattoos
