{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1988)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox college coach | name = Vai Taua | image = Vai Taua 2010 crop.jpg | alt = | caption = Taua in 2010 | current_title = Assistant head coach | current_team = Nevada | current_conference = MW | current_record = | contract = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|10|11}} | birth_place = Fountain Valley, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = | player_years1 = 2006–2010 | player_team1 = Nevada | player_years2 = 2011 | player_team2 = Buffalo Bills | player_years3 = 2011–2012 | player_team3 = Seattle Seahawks | player_positions = Running back | coach_years1 = 2014–2015 | coach_team1 = UCLA (DB) | coach_years2 = 2016 | coach_team2 = East Los Angeles (co-ST/RB) | coach_years3 = 2017–2018 | coach_team3 = Nevada (special teams analyst) | coach_years4 = 2019–2021 | coach_team4 = Nevada (RB) | coach_years5 = 2021 | coach_team5 = Nevada (interim HC) | coach_years6 = 2022–present | coach_team6 = Nevada ({{abbr|AHC|Assistant head coach}}/RB) | overall_record = 0–1 | bowl_record = 0–1 | tournament_record = | championships = | awards = * Third-team All-American (2010) * 3× First-team All-WAC (2008, 2009, 2010) * 2008 ''Sporting News'' WAC Offensive MVP | coaching_records = }} '''Vailala Lima Taua''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|aɪ|_|ˈ|t|aʊ|.|ə}}; born October 11, 1988) is an American football coach and former running back who was the interim head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack. He played college football at Nevada, earning third-team All-American honors in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sports.ap.org/college-football/story?id=p69bce3b7275449b48f78dafccd385b3d |title=Nevada's Taua 3rd team AP All-American |access-date=November 23, 2016 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726044749/http://sports.ap.org/college-football/story?id=p69bce3b7275449b48f78dafccd385b3d |url-status=dead }}</ref> He briefly played in the National Football League (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.<ref name="bio"/>
==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).<ref name="bio"/> 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.<ref name="bio"/><ref name="guide"/> 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.<ref name="guide"/> Taua was named to the All-WAC first-team and the ''Sporting News'' named him the WAC's Most Valuable Offensive Player.<ref name="bio">[http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10000&ATCLID=530664 Vai Taua Bio], University of Nevada Athletics official website, retrieved January 2, 2009. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610233218/http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10000&ATCLID=530664 |date=June 10, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="guide">[http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/pdf5/360506.pdf?ATCLID=3636696&SPID=4082&DB_OEM_ID=10000&SPSID=45380 2008 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Media Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610233157/http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/pdf5/360506.pdf?ATCLID=3636696&SPID=4082&DB_OEM_ID=10000&SPSID=45380 |date=June 10, 2011 }}, Nevada Wolf Pack, University of Nevada Athletic Media Services Office, retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref><ref name="espn">[https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/14535/vai-taua Vai Taua Stats], ESPN, retrieved January 2, 2009.</ref>
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."<ref>{{Cite web|last=ncs-import|title=Nevada 1,000-yard rusher, Vai Taua will miss Hawaii Bowl|url=http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2009/dec/19/nevada-1000-yard-rusher-vai-taua-will-miss-hawaii-/|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=www.nevadaappeal.com}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Draft Scout: QB Rankings|url=http://draftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=79772&draftyear=2011&genpos=RB|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=draftscout.com}}</ref>
===Collegiate statistics=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- align=center ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Team ! rowspan="2"| G ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| 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 |- ! colspan="2"| 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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 4, 2011|title=The cut to 53|url=https://blog.seahawks.com/2011/09/03/the-cut-to-53/|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=Seahawks.com Blog|archive-date=October 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002221249/https://blog.seahawks.com/2011/09/03/the-cut-to-53/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Taua re-signed on January 11, 2012 and was released on September 12, 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2021 Seattle Seahawks Transactions|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/transactions/_/name/sea/year/2012/seattle-seahawks|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=ESPN}}</ref>
==Coaching career== Taua was a coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where his brother Ainnuu played.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-ainuu-taua-20160821-snap-story.html| title = Ainuu Taua, UCLA's long-haired 294-pound fullback, is a hirsute handful for tacklers - Los Angeles Times| website = Los Angeles Times| date = 22 August 2016}}</ref> He also was a running backs coach at East Los Angeles College.<ref>{{Cite news|title=New coach for a new season|url=http://elaccampusnews.com/2016/04/20/new-coach-for-a-new-season/|newspaper=East Los Angeles College Campus News|date=April 20, 2016|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref>
At Nevada, Taua acted as a special teams assistant in 2017 and 2018 before serving as the running backs coach from 2019 to 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Murray|first=Chris|title=Rain Man: How ex-Pack star Vai Taua returned to Reno|url=https://www.rgj.com/story/sports/college/nevada/2017/03/31/rain-man-how-ex-pack-star-vai-taua-returned-reno/99848670/|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=Reno Gazette Journal}}</ref> On December 6, 2021, Taua was named as the team's interim head coach for the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl after Nevada head coach Jay Norvell left the program to take a vacant head coaching job at Colorado State.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 6, 2021|title=It's official: Wolf Pack football coach Jay Norvell leaves Nevada for Colorado State job|url=https://www.rgj.com/story/sports/college/nevada/2021/12/06/reports-nevada-wolf-pack-football-coach-jay-norvell-nears-colorado-state-job/8890175002/|access-date=December 6, 2021|website=Reno Gazette-Journal}}</ref> Taua was named as assistant head coach for incoming head coach Ken Wilson prior to the 2022 season.
==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 played football at Nevada.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Taua Trying Safety Ahead of Lompoc Opener|url=https://247sports.com/high-school/california/Article/Toa-Taua-has-played-running-back-and-linebacker-but-Lompoc-coaches-are-now-experimenting-with-hi-74969891/|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=GoldenStatePreps.com}}</ref>
==Head coaching record== {{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subhead | name = Nevada Wolf Pack | conf = Mountain West Conference | startyear = 2021 | endyear = single }} {{CFB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | year = 2021 | name = Nevada | overall = 0–1 | conference = N/A | confstanding = N/A | bowlname = Quick Lane{{efn|group=record|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}} | bowloutcome = L | ranking = no | ranking2 = no }} {{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal | name = Nevada | overall = 0–1 | confrecord = }} {{CFB Yearly Record End | overall = 0–1 | bowls = no | poll = no | polltype = | legend = no }} {{notelist|group=record}}
==See also== * List of college football yearly rushing leaders
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/vai-taua/950 Nevada coach profile] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110610233218/http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10000&ATCLID=530664 Nevada player profile]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taua, Vai}} Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:American football running backs Category:Buffalo Bills players Category:East Los Angeles Huskies football coaches Category:Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Category:Nevada Wolf Pack football players Category:Seattle Seahawks players Category:UCLA Bruins football coaches Category:Sportspeople from Fountain Valley, California Category:Sportspeople from Lompoc, California Category:Players of American football from Orange County, California Category:Players of American football from Santa Barbara County, California Category:Coaches of American football from California Category:American people of Samoan descent Category:Sportspeople of Samoan descent