Vai Taua

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Vai Taua
Vai Taua 2010 crop.jpg
Taua in 2010 as a running back for Nevada.
Current position
TitleRunning backs coach
TeamNevada
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Biographical details
Born (1988-10-11) October 11, 1988 (age 33)
Fountain Valley, California
Alma materNevada
Playing career
2006–2010Nevada
2011Buffalo Bills
2011–2012Seattle Seahawks
Position(s)Running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2014–2015UCLA (DBs)
2016East Los Angeles (Co-ST/RBs)
2017–2018Nevada (Special teams analyst)
2019–presentNevada (RBs)
2021–presentNevada (Interim HC)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
  • 3× All-WAC first team (2008, 2009, 2010)
  • 2008 Sporting News WAC Offensive MVP
  • 2010 3rd Team AP All-American[1]

Vailala Lima "Vai" Taua (/ˈvaɪ ˈtaʊ.ə/; born October 11, 1988) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the interim head coach and running backs coach at Nevada. He played college football at Nevada and was briefly in the NFL as an undrafted free agent for the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks from 2011 to 2012.

Early life[]

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 Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve against SMU. 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 Hawaii 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[]

Year Team G Rushing Receiving
Att Yards Avg TD Rec Yards Avg TD
2007 Nevada 8 19 112 5.9 1 1 3 3.0 0
2008 Nevada 13 236 1,521 6.4 15 30 243 8.1 3
2009 Nevada 11 172 1,345 7.8 10 12 99 8.2 2
2010 Nevada 13 262 1,619 5.7 19 18 226 12.6 3
Career 46 711 4,588 6.5 45 61 571 9.4 8

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 was 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 played.[9] He also was a running backs coach at East Los Angeles College.[10]

Taua is currently the interim head coach and running backs coach for Nevada.[11] On December 6, 2021, Taua was named the interim head coach after Nevada head coach Jay Norvell left the program to take a vacant head coaching job at Colorado State.[12]

Head coaching record[]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Nevada Wolf Pack (Mountain West Conference) (2021–present)
2021 Nevada 0–0 N/A N/A Quick Lane†
Total: 0–0

†=Taua acted as the interim head coach for the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl as former head coach Jay Norvell had left the program prior to the game.

Personal life[]

Taua has three brothers and two sisters. He has a son, Tamali'i. Two of his brothers also played FBS football: his brother Ainnuu played at UCLA, and his brother Toa plays football at Nevada.[13]

See also[]

  • List of college football yearly rushing leaders

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 Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Nevada Wolf Pack, University of Nevada Athletic Media Services Office, retrieved 2 January 2009.
  4. ^ Vai Taua Stats, ESPN, retrieved 2 January 2009.
  5. ^ ncs-import. "Nevada 1,000-yard rusher, Vai Taua will miss Hawaii Bowl". www.nevadaappeal.com. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  6. ^ "2019 Draft Scout: QB Rankings". draftscout.com. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  7. ^ "The cut to 53". Seahawks.com Blog. 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  8. ^ "2021 Seattle Seahawks Transactions". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  9. ^ https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-ainuu-taua-20160821-snap-story.html[bare URL]
  10. ^ "New coach for a new season". East Los Angeles College Campus News. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  11. ^ Murray, Chris. "Rain Man: How ex-Pack star Vai Taua returned to Reno". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  12. ^ "It's official: Wolf Pack football coach Jay Norvell leaves Nevada for Colorado State job". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Taua Trying Safety Ahead of Lompoc Opener". GoldenStatePreps.com. Retrieved 2021-10-02.

External links[]

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