Marcus Anthony Mailei (born October 30, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

fullback. After playing college football for

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

, he was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He was a member of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

from 2009–2010.

Early years

Mailei attended Highland High School in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

and was a

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in football and rugby, playing for the famous Highland Rugby Team coached by

Larry Gelwix Larry Gelwix (born in Oakland, California) has been the coach of the Highland Rugby team since its founding in Salt Lake City in 1976. The movie '' Forever Strong'' (2008) was inspired by him and his team's history. The Highland rugby team has c ...

. He was rated a two-star prospect by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

''. He also appeared as an extra in the film ''

Forever Strong ''Forever Strong'' is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Little, written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The f ...

'' about Gelwix's life. Mailei is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

College career

Mailei saw playing time in his freshman year in 2005, but was limited by a knee injury. In 2006, Mailei started all 11 games for the Wildcats and was Weber State's third-leading receiver with 241 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 72 yards and two scores, and earned Honorable Mention All-Big Sky honors. As a junior in 2007, Mailei saw a decrease in numbers, but established himself as the lead blocker for 4-time First-team All-Big Sky rusher Trevyn Smith, netting himself a First-team All-Big Sky selection. In 2008, Mailei entered the year with NFL potential, which brought him attention from NFL scouts. He took part in arguably Weber State's most successful season in program history, in which the Wildcats won their first Big Sky Championship in 40 years and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. Mailei garnered another First-team All Big Sky Selection in 2008, in addition to a TSN Honorable Mention selection to the All-America Team. Following his senior season, Mailei was invited to participate in the

Texas vs The Nation Texas vs The Nation was an American college football all-star bowl game played from 2007 to 2013. Originally played at the Sun Bowl Stadium, the format of the game pitted 50 top-rated college seniors who played college or high school football i ...

all-star game in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the 2009 NFL Draft, Mailei was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he suffered from flu-like symptoms.

Philadelphia Eagles

Mailei was signed as an

by the

on April 27, 2009. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2009, and re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 7, 2009.

New Orleans Saints

Mailei was signed off the Eagles' practice squad by the

on December 9, 2009, after the team waived fullback Kyle Eckel, and played in two games. Eckel was re-signed on December 21 when Mailei was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Mailei returned to the Saints in 2010 but suffered a leg injury during training camp; he was waived/injured on August 20, 2010, and subsequently reverted to the team's

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after clearing waivers the next day. He was waived on February 10, 2011.

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio

Weber State Wildcats football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mailei, Marcus 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football fullbacks Weber State Wildcats football players Philadelphia Eagles players New Orleans Saints players American people of Tongan descent