All About Puka Nacua's Parents, Mom Penina and Late Dad Lionel

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puk Nacu’s parents, Penina and Lionel Nacu, raised their son to be resilient and follow his dreams.

Puka had one of the best rookie seasons of all time by a wide receiver during the 2023 NFL season. He broke the record for most receiving yards and receptions in a single season by a rookie, becoming a successful NFL star.

He is known for his physical style of play, which stems from his father coaching Puka and his four brothers – with Puka’s older brothers Kai and Samson playing in the NFL – growing up.

“His passion for his sons’ football was above all else,” Penina said Deseret News. “He loved football and I remember he was in love with his sons because they had the Samoan build, you know. When he saw them, he said: ‘My boys will be athletes.’ ”

Puka — born May 29, 2001 — is the second youngest of six children, including his four brothers Justin, Samson, Isaiah and Tei, and sister Chanel. Lionel died of complications from diabetes when Puka was 11 years old, but his mother came to the aid of her children, which Puka recalls to give him strength.

“My mother is everything for me and my family. That I can be the rock of our family and be a support in this difficult time,” said Puka USA Today. “The strength of a single mother, the ability to carry all of us children and then continue to carry, that’s something I refer to.”

Here’s everything there is to know about Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puk Nacu’s parents, Penina and Lionel Nacu.

Lionel and Penina had six children together

Private Nacua with his family.

Just Nacua/Instagram

Puka comes from a large, loving and athletic family with four brothers and one sister. Lionel wrestled when he was younger and was a huge football fan, training his and Penny’s five sons to become footballers.

After Lionel died when Puka was 11, Penina continued to make sure the boys were able to achieve their dreams of playing on the gridiron.

“But the strength to keep pushing and being there in all the important moments for me, and especially for my siblings, being younger, watching her find a way to go practice here, go practice there, be at this game, and be team mom, and all that stuff,” Puka said Rams discovered. “The things she sacrificed and the strength it took to do that is something I hold close to my heart.”

Lionel influenced Puka’s passion for football by showing him films and coaching him

Penina and Puka Nacua in January 2024.

Ezra Shaw/Getty

Lionel’s training greatly influenced Puka to become the man and footballer he is today. Puka is known for a unique physical style of play for a wide receiver, which comes from Lionel making him watch film of defensive NFL legends like Troy Polamalu and Lawrence Taylor.

“There were times when I got to the truck and I remember that Puka was sitting in the passenger seat and had his iPad, and dad would make him watch a movie,” Penina said. New York Post. “Puka would have to sit there and watch a movie while my husband took him to the game. And they were my husband’s favorite players.”

Lionel also influenced Puka’s interest in football by coaching him and his brothers.

“My husband loved defense,” Penina said. “He’d ask everyone to suit up and put on their shoulder pads, and he’d make them go one-on-one.”

Puka video calls Penina every day and calls her from the locker room after every game

Nacu Regiment in November 2023.

Ric Tapia/Getty

The Natsu family is very close, and Puka video calls her mom — along with various combinations of her siblings — at least once a day, according to USA Today. Puka is so close to Penina that he calls her from the locker room after every game, including when he scored his first professional touchdown.

“She was very emotional,” Puka told The Ringer. “I’m just trying to say how proud she was of me. How could she imagine that my dad would be proud of us just to get to this point.”

Puka credits her mother for her strength

Penina Nacua in February 2024.

James Atoa/UPI/Shutterstock

Lionel dying when Puka was so young was hard on the family and he left Penina to raise Puka and his five siblings as a single mother. said Puka Rams discovered that he gets strength from his mother and the struggles she overcame to raise him and his siblings.

“The number one word that comes to mind when I think of my mom is strength,” Puka said Rams discovered. “My father passed away when I was a child, and she raised five boys and one girl, and only the struggles she always had [make] sure she made us recognize, but also the things she also sacrificed for us… People see strength through me, but I also have my own source of strength.”

Penina likes to support Puka, either at matches or at home

Nacua Regiment in December 2023.

Michael Owens/Getty

Penina loves to support her son, whether she’s watching him in person or at home. Early in the season, she watched Puka score his first NFL touchdown — the game-winning catch over the middle in overtime — at home and found herself jumping for joy.

“We literally jumped off the couch and we were screaming and we were just crying because we watched Puka on TV and saw him in his element and score that last touchdown to win the game,” Penina said New York Post. “That was the sweetest moment to see. And we all felt it coming. It’s as if we’ve all already called. I swear, the angels were there helping, making sure he got into that end zone and made it.”

At the end of the season, she personally watched Puka break the all-time records for receiving yards and receptions among rookies against the San Francisco 49ers. The Los Angeles Rams posted a video on YouTube of Puka in an emotional embrace with Penina on the field after the game.

Puka helped Penina when her mother fell ill by returning to continue his football career

Private Nacua visiting high school football players.

Courtesy of the LA Rams

When Puka’s grandmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and Penina needed to take care of her, Puka learned from Penina’s sacrifices that it would be worthwhile for him to be there to help his mom. While Puka’s brother Samson played football at the University of Utah and Puka at the University of Washington, they decided to return home and play at BYU in 2021 and be close to Pennina.

“My mom called me and my grandmother was diagnosed,” said Puka Rams discovered. “It was just an opportunity, especially [with us knowing] … what it’s like to lose a parent and to be able to go there and support our mom and support our family because we went through something very similar.”

Puka used this experience to help others when he visited a local high school football team whose coach had cancer in 2023.

“My grandmother died of ovarian cancer. I just know that no matter how much he goes through, the people around him and his family, just the support system that he has, it takes a group of people to fight against that too,” Puka told PEOPLE. “It’s a battle and it takes everything and it affects those people around you.”

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Source: HIS Education