No. 7 | |
Quarterback | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Date of birth: | January 13, 1987|
Place of birth: Stockton, California | |
Career information | |
College: Arizona | |
Undrafted in 2009 | |
No regular season or postseason appearances | |
Career history | |
* Nebraska Danger (2011–2012)
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
*2008 Las Vegas Bowl MVP | |
Stats at ArenaFan.com |
Willie Coonley Savea Tuitama (born January 13, 1987) is a former American football quarterback.
Early life[]
Born the son of Lui and Nancy Tuitama of Stockton, where he attended St. Mary's High School. In 2005, he was ranked by SuperPrep All-America, its No. 16 quarterback. He received PrepStar All-America honors, as well as votes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West Poll. Named Cal-Hi Sports third-team All-State.[citation needed]
As a Senior, he completed 158 of 254 passes for 2,734 yards, with 32 touchdowns, with only 7 interceptions. He led St. Mary's to California's Division I sectional championship, beating Nevada Union High School, 50-45 with Tuitama completing his last 11 passes. He had no incompletions in the second half. His team finished 13-1 and Tuitama led the league in passing yards, completing 17 of 23 passes for career highs of 312 yards and five touchdowns in his final prep game.
Following the year he was named a Max Emfinger top 30 dropback QB list with 4.5 stars, CollegeFootballnews.com No. 12 QB prospect nationally. He was a two-year letterman in football and once in baseball. He was also named a Rivals.com 4-star prospect.[1]
College career[]
Tuitama was offered scholarships from the Washington Huskies and Arizona Wildcats.[1] He chose Arizona, where he majored in family studies and human development. During his tenure at Arizona he would set several school records, all of which were subsequently broken by Nick Foles, except career touchdowns (67) which they are tied.[2]
Professional career[]
Despite being named MVP of the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl,[3] he went undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Some analysis and media outlets reported his ill-timed DUI arrest in March 2009 and guilty plea in June of that year may have been considered a factor.[4][5]
Nebraska Danger[]
Tuitama began his professional career with the Nebraska Danger of the Indoor Football League.[6]
Allen Wranglers[]
Tuitama played for the Allen Wranglers for the later part of the 2012 season.
Return to Nebraska[]
Tuitama re-signed with the Danger for the 2013 season, but did not report to training camp.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Willie Tuitama Rivals.com Profile, sports.yahoo.com; accessed February 5, 2018.
- ↑ Willie Tuitama: University of Arizona bio, arizonawildcats.com; accessed February 5, 2018.
- ↑ Arizona blasts BYU for first bowl win in 10 years, lasvegassun.com; accessed February 5, 2018.
- ↑ AP. "Tuitama arrested for extreme DUI". AZcentral. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/ua/articles/2009/03/09/20090309spt-tuitama.html. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ↑ Finley, Patrick. "Patrick Finley: Waiting tables, hoping for a call". Arizona Daily Star. http://azstarnet.com/sports/football/article_89858909-7c48-5d64-9bce-cf57c2a83e4e.html. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ↑ Tuitama to get chance in Indoor Football League
Template:Arizona Wildcats quarterback navbox