Marques Tuiasosopo

Marques Tavita Tuiasosopo (born March 22, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who is currently a coach for the Washington Huskies football team. He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Washington.

He has also been a member of the New York Jets.

Early years
Marques was raised in Woodinville, a suburb northeast of Seattle. An excellent athlete, he was also a standout shortstop in baseball at Woodinville High School. After his senior year, Tuiasosopo was drafted in the 28th round of the 1997 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, but chose to play college football instead. Because he played on both offense & defense in high school (option quarterback & safety), he was primarily recruited by Division I football programs to play defense.

Marques accepted a football scholarship to the University of Washington in Seattle, primarily because Jim Lambright was one of the few head coaches that would grant him the opportunity to compete at quarterback, rather than just at safety.

College career
While at Washington, Tuiasosopo majored in business administration.

In September 1997, months out of high school, he was called into action in a nationally-televised home game against Nebraska, due to an injury to starter Brock Huard. Despite losing 27-14, Tuiasosopo was impressive against the sixth-ranked (and eventual national-champion) Cornhuskers, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Later in the year against Oregon, he became the Huskies' first true freshman to start a game at quarterback, throwing for 261 yards and rushing for 95, in a 31-28 loss. He also played considerably the following year for the oft-injured Huard, and never did use his redshirt season. Following the 1998 season, Rick Neuheisel replaced Lambright as head coach, and named Marques as the starting quarterback to replace the graduating Huard. As a junior in October 1999, Tuiasosopo became the only player in NCAA college football history to pass for over 300 yards and run for over 200 yards in a game, during a 35-30 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Husky Stadium. That year he led the Huskies to a 6-2 conference record, finishing in second place to the Cardinal and earning the team a bid to the 1999 Holiday Bowl.

As a senior in 2000, he led the Huskies to the Pac-10 title and a 34-24 Rose Bowl victory over Drew Brees and the Purdue Boilermakers, and was named the MVP of the game. The Huskies finished the season with an 11-1 record, ranked third in the national polls. The season included a victory over the Miami Hurricanes at Husky Stadium in September, the Hurricanes only loss of the season. Tuiasosopo threw for 225 yards and a touchdown and ran for 45 yards and another touchdown in the 34-29 win, earning national acclaim while finishing 8th in Heisman voting.

Oakland Raiders
Tuiasosopo was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft, the 59th overall pick and the fourth quarterback selected (behind Michael Vick, Drew Brees, & Quincy Carter).

In the NFL, Tuiasosopo has primarily been a reserve quarterback, the Raiders' backup to Rich Gannon and Kerry Collins. He was on the sidelines for Super Bowl XXXVII at the conclusion of the 2002 NFL season, but did not appear in the game as his team lost 48-21. His first significant playing time came during a Monday Night Football game during the 2003 season, throwing for 224 yards, all in the second half. Marques played well enough to earn his first career NFL start the following week, but struggled, throwing for just 65 yards along with an interception before leaving the game with an injury late in the first half. He did not start another game until late in the 2005 season, where he again struggled losing 26-10. He was promptly demoted back to the sidelines the next week. The team finished just 4-12 in the 2005 season with primarily Kerry Collins as the starting quarterback, paving the way for the younger Tuiasosopo to receive more consideration for the job.

New York Jets
Tuiasosopo signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets on March 23, 2007.

Second stint with Raiders
A free agent in the 2008 offseason, Tuiasosopo re-signed with the Raiders on May 22, 2008, on a 1-year contract in his final NFL season.

Post-football career
Tuiasosopo had been a strength coach for the football team at his alma mater, the University of Washington, and later accepted a similar position with UCLA where he joined his former coach Rick Neuheisel. He returned to the University of Washington on December 29, 2012 as quarterbacks coach.

Personal
Tuiasosopo is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Manu Tuiasosopo, who played collegiately for UCLA, then professionally from 1979-86 for the Seahawks and 49ers, being a starter at Nose Tackle and winning Super Bowl XIX. Marques' brother is fullback Zach Tuiasosopo, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles until he was waived on July 11, 2007. Zach and Marques were also teammates on the Raiders for part of a season. His youngest brother, Matt, plays baseball professionally for the Seattle Mariners. His sister Leslie played volleyball for Washington, trained with the US National Team, and is currently an assistant coach at the University of Washington. Marques is married; his wife is named Lisa. His uncle, Mike, is currently the defensive tackles coach at the University of Colorado.

Tuiasosopo is also a cousin of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, perpetrator of the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax.