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Vai Taua

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Vai Taua
refer to caption
Taua in 2010 as a college football player at Nevada.
Personal information
Born: (1988-10-11) October 11, 1988 (age 36)
Fountain Valley, California
Career information
College:Nevada
Position:Running back
Undrafted:2011
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • 3× All-WAC first team (2008, 2009, 2010)
  • 2008 Sporting News WAC Offensive MVP
  • 2010 3rd Team AP All-American[1]
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Vailala "Vai" Lima Taua (/ˈvaɪ ˈtaʊ.ə/; born October 11, 1988) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2011 to 2012. He played college football at Nevada.

Early years

Taua was born in Fountain Valley, California, to Faletui and Taua Taua (Davis). He attended Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, California, where he played football and competed in track and field. He lettered in football all four years and twice in track and field. During his senior year, he ran for 1,709 yards and 27 touchdowns. Taua led the Los Padres League in rushing and was named the conference's Most Valuable Player. He also earned all-conference and All-California Interscholastic Federation honors.[2]

College career

Taua sat out the 2006 as a redshirt and in 2007 saw action in eight games with 19 carries for 112 yards (including one touchdown).[2] In 2008, Taua began the year as a reserve but became a starter after senior running back and 2007 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) rushing leader Luke Lippincott suffered a season-ending injury in the second game.[2][3] Playing in all 13 games that season, he rushed for 1,521 yards on 236 carries (including 15 touchdowns) and also made 29 receptions for 226 yards (including two touchdowns). Against Fresno State, Taua ran for his season high of 263 yards on 28 carries, for which he was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week. In that game, he broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. With Taua and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, 2008 became the first season in Nevada school history that the team had two 1,000-yard rushers.[3] Taua was named to the All-WAC first-team and the Sporting News named him the WAC's Most Valuable Offensive Player.[2][3][4]

On December 19, 2009, it was announced that Taua was academically ineligible and would sit out the Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Eve against Southern Methodist. His future with the Wolf Pack team was put in doubt, with head coach Chris Ault's stating that he would "evaluate (Taua's) future with the team after the bowl game."[5] On January 8, 2010, Ault held a press conference in which he stated that he wanted to "punch [Taua] right in the mouth" for his failure to meet academic expectations and missing the Hawai'i Bowl. Ault added that Taua would return to the team for his senior season and the issue of his academic performance would be dealt with "in house".[6]

Collegiate statistics

As of December 9, 2010

Career Rushing Stats
Year Team G Rush Attempts Rushing Yards Rushing AVG Rushing TD
2007 Nevada 8 19 112 5.9 1
2008 Nevada 13 236 1,521 6.4 15
2009 Nevada 12 172 1,345 7.8 10
2010 Nevada 12 262 1,534 5.8 19
Total 46 689 4,512 6.5 45
Career Receiving Stats
Year Team G Rec Yards Reception AVG Receiving TD
2007 Nevada 8 1 3 3.0 0
2008 Nevada 13 30 243 8.1 3
2009 Nevada 12 12 99 8.2 2
2010 Nevada 12 15 216 14.4 3
Total 46 58 561 9.67 8

stats current as of December 9, 2010, via [1]

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Taua went undrafted during the 2011 NFL Draft. On July 27, 2011, Taua signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, but later waived on August 5.

Seattle Seahawks

On August 14, 2011, Taua signed with the Seattle Seahawks. He was waived on August 22, but was re-signed on August 24. He was cut to trim the team regular season roster to 53 members on September 3, 2011.[7] Taua re-signed on January 11, 2012 and was released on September 12, 2012.[8]

Coaching career

Taua was a coach at the University of California Los Angeles, where his brother Ainnuu plays.[9] He is currently a running backs coach at East Los Angeles College.[10]

Personal life

Taua has three brothers and two sisters. He has a son, Tamali'i.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://sports.ap.org/college-football/story?id=p69bce3b7275449b48f78dafccd385b3d
  2. ^ a b c d Vai Taua Bio, University of Nevada Athletics official website, retrieved 2 January 2009. Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c 2008 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Media Guide, Nevada Wolf Pack, University of Nevada Athletic Media Services Office, retrieved 2 January 2009.
  4. ^ Vai Taua Stats, ESPN, retrieved 2 January 2009.
  5. ^ http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/12/19/wolf-packs-leading-rusher-ruled-ineligible/
  6. ^ http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=79772&draftyear=2011&genpos=RB
  7. ^ http://blog.seahawks.com/2011/09/03/the-cut-to-53
  8. ^ http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/transactions/_/name/sea/year/2012/seattle-seahawks
  9. ^ http://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-ainuu-taua-20160821-snap-story.html
  10. ^ http://elaccampusnews.com/2016/04/20/new-coach-for-a-new-season/
  11. ^ http://www.musculationsfitness.com/tube/dwT20wqZ9fQ/Taua+Family+Football+Success
  12. ^ http://www.scout.com/high-school/california/story/1699198-taua-trying-safety-ahead-of-lompoc-opener
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