Kevin Mawae

Kevin James Mawae (born January 23, 1971) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. During his career, he played for the Seattle Seahawks (1994–1997), New York Jets (1998–2005), and the Tennessee Titans (2006–2009). He was a four-year starter for Louisiana State and was selected second-team All-SEC by Associated Press and SEC coaches as senior. Mawae is one of the top centers of recent times, having been selected to the Pro Bowl on six consecutive occasions (1999–2004), and was an eight-time All-Pro selection.

Early years
Mawae spent five years of his childhood (age 7–12) in Hanau, Germany, when his father retired Sgt. 1st Class David Mawae, who served 23 years in the U.S. Army, was stationed in Fliegerhorst post in Germany, and it was there that he began playing football. His father's career also took him for periods of time to Germany, Georgia, Kansas, and Louisiana.

Mawae earned All-State and All-Academic honors at Leesville High School.

College career
Mawae attended LSU and was redshirted in 1989. He started seven games as freshman at left tackle and was Freshman All-SEC, he was also team's long snapper. In his sophomore season, he was a first-team All-SEC selection, playing three different positions; left tackle (8 G), center (3 G), and left guard (1 G).As junior, he played left tackle and was chosen second-team All-SEC and was a third-team All-American. For his senior season he moved from left tackle to center for all 11 games. He played in Blue-Gray Game and Senior Bowl after his senior season. Mawae was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Seattle Seahawks
Mawae was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (36th overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft. He saw his first pro action at right guard against the Oakland Raiders on September 11, and never left the lineup after taking over early in the game versus the Indianapolis Colts. He finished the season playing in 14 games, starting the final 11 at right guard. After the season Mawae earned first-team All-Rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers Association, College and Pro Football Newsweekly and Football News. In 1995 he started all 16 games at right guard, seeing time at center in two games. He was moved to the center position at the start of his 1996 season and has remained at that spot ever since.

New York Jets
In 1998, Mawae was signed by the New York Jets.In his first season at New York, Jets offense averaged 357.2 yards per game (second-best in AFC and fourth-best in NFL), while controlling the ball for an average of 32:17 minutes per game (second-best in AFC and third-best in NFL), also helped running back Curtis Martin to rush for franchise-record eight 100-yard rushing games en route to 1,287-yard season. He started all 16 games. In 1999, he was named to his first Pro Bowl on December 22, he did not miss a play for the second straight season and paved the way for Martin's then franchise-record of 1,464 yards rushing, and snapped to four different quarterbacks; Vinny Testaverde, Tom Tupa, Rick Mirer and Ray Lucas. On 2000, he was member of the line that tied Indianapolis Colts for fewest sacks allowed during regular season with 20. Also helped Jets offense average 337.2 yards per game was the 12th best in NFL and the passing offense averaged 245.3 yards per game (sixth in NFL). Mawae earned his second consecutive starting spot as AFC team Pro Bowl center he was selected to the Pro Bowl on six consecutive occasions (1999–2004). In 2002, he underwent offseason shoulder surgery to repair damage to left rotator cuff, he missed two preseason games but kept his consecutive games started streak by making 124th consecutive start in season opener against the Buffalo Bills. His unbroken streak of 177 games came to an end in October 2005 with a serious triceps injury to his left arm, and he missed the rest of the season. On March 5, 2006, he was cut by the Jets.

Tennessee Titans
After being cut by the Jets, Mawae was signed by the Tennessee Titans nine days later on March 14, 2006. In his first season with Tennessee, he helped the offense rank third in the AFC and fifth in the NFL in rushing with 2,214 yards. The Titans set a franchise record by averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and the offensive line, led by Mawae, finished tied for 10th in the league with only 29 sacks allowed, Titans running back Travis Henry finished 2006 with 1,211 rushing yards and rookie quarterback Vince Young was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

In 2007, Mawae was voted team captain and started 14 games, helping LenDale White register his first career 1,000-yard season as he finished with 1,110.

On September 10, 2010, Mawae announced that he was retiring from the NFL after 16 years in the league. His last game was the 2010 Pro Bowl.

NFL Players Association
Mawae was appointed President of the NFLPA on March 19, 2008, a position he held until March 11, 2011, when the union decertified during the 2011 NFL lockout. He had served on NFL Players Association Executive Committee since 2002 and was a player rep from 1999-2001.

Player reputation
In 2009, Mawae was ranked fifth in a Sports Illustrated poll of "dirty players". The magazine surveyed 296 NFL players to come up with the ranking. Mawae was quoted on the Titans' site as saying he was "proud" of the recognition because he plays the game hard, but conceded, "I’ve been known to leg whip a time or two. I’ve paid the price for those, both physically and in the pocket."

Personal life
Mawae is of Hawaiian descent. Mawae is married to Tracy Dale Hicks, he proposed to her in the summer of 1992 at LSU Fan Day in front of 140 teammates, 10 coaches and 3,000 fans over the public address system, the couple has a son, Kirkland (born 1997), and a daughter, Abigail (born 1999). A few years into his NFL career, Mawae lost his brother, former teammate and best friend, John, in a car accident. John, a former nose guard at LSU, left a profound effect on Kevin by establishing a strong faith prior to his death. Mawae's tragic loss has allowed him to become very spiritual.

Off the field
During the 2008 offseason, Mawae and his family spent two weeks in Africa with Children’s Cup International Relief, a missions organization that the Mawae family has helped support financially. They traveled primarily in Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. He was Eddie Towne's favorite player in ESPN's hit show TILT. He created the First and Goal Challenge, a unique program to benefit Winthrop University Hospital's outstanding Child Life Program and Pediatric Services.