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Football
Atuaia, Mark
Mark Atuaia
- Title:
- Running Backs
Mark Atuaia is set to begin his first season with Utah Football as the running backs coach in 2025. He spent the previous three seasons as the running backs coach and associate head coach at Washington State.Â
At Washington State, Atuaia had been integral in the development in the run game the past three seasons for the Cougars. In 2024, he coached true freshman Wayshawn Parker to post 735 rushing yards on 137 carries (5.4 ypc) with four touchdowns to earn a spot on the Pac-12 Football "Top Performers" list.
In 2023, he also mentored a young nucleus that included three of the top four running backs on the team being underclassmen. That trio averaged 5.28 yards per carry that season with Washington State also setting a season-high of 229 rushing yards against Northern Colorado.
During his first season at Washington State in 2022, Atuaia mentored junior Nakia Watson to an All-Pac-12 year after he recorded 769 yards on the ground with nine touchdowns. Watson finished the season ranking fourth in the league and tied for seventh in the school single-season records for total touchdowns scored (13).
Before his stint with the Cougars, Atuaia spent six seasons at Virginia under Bronco Mendenhall. He helped guide running backs to the NFL and in 2021, he coached Virginia to amass over 5,000 yards of total offense for the third time in four seasons. Â
He oversaw the running backs when Wayne Taulapapa surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in his career during the 2021 season with Taulapapa also scoring 12 touchdowns in 2019. He also coached Jordan Ellis to a standout senior season in 2018 with the senior rushing for 1,026 yards and 10 scores.
In his first season at Virginia, Atuaia helped All-ACC running back Taquan Mizzell become the first player in ACC history to rush for 1,500 yards and catch for 1,500 yards in a career. That season, he was one of four players in the FBS that led their teams in both rushing yards (940) and total receptions (52). Â
Atuaia joined Mendenhall at BYU in 2013 as the running backs coach, leading the Cougars to the No. 10-ranked rushing offense (267.3 ypg), setting a school record with 3,475 rushing yards. He tutored Jamaal Williams as the Cougar rushed for 1,233 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013 as a sophomore.
Atuaia was a student assistant at BYU from 2005-11 before becoming the assistant to the athletics director for student services in 2012. He had previously worked as the assistant to the dean of student life at BYU after graduating in 2011 with both a doctor of jurisprudence from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School and a master of public administration.
He played running back at BYU during the 1991 and 1994-96 seasons, helping the Cougars to a 39-11-2 record with three conference titles. As a senior, he started 13 games on BYU's 14-1 Cotton Bowl team that finished the year ranked No. 5 in the country.
A native of Laie, Hawaii, Atuaia served a church mission in Tucson, Ariz., from 1992-93, receiving his bachelor's degree from BYU-Hawaii in 2003. He and his wife Elizabeth, an accomplished recording artist and lead singer for the 1980s pop group The Jets, are parents of seven children.
At Washington State, Atuaia had been integral in the development in the run game the past three seasons for the Cougars. In 2024, he coached true freshman Wayshawn Parker to post 735 rushing yards on 137 carries (5.4 ypc) with four touchdowns to earn a spot on the Pac-12 Football "Top Performers" list.
In 2023, he also mentored a young nucleus that included three of the top four running backs on the team being underclassmen. That trio averaged 5.28 yards per carry that season with Washington State also setting a season-high of 229 rushing yards against Northern Colorado.
During his first season at Washington State in 2022, Atuaia mentored junior Nakia Watson to an All-Pac-12 year after he recorded 769 yards on the ground with nine touchdowns. Watson finished the season ranking fourth in the league and tied for seventh in the school single-season records for total touchdowns scored (13).
Before his stint with the Cougars, Atuaia spent six seasons at Virginia under Bronco Mendenhall. He helped guide running backs to the NFL and in 2021, he coached Virginia to amass over 5,000 yards of total offense for the third time in four seasons. Â
He oversaw the running backs when Wayne Taulapapa surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in his career during the 2021 season with Taulapapa also scoring 12 touchdowns in 2019. He also coached Jordan Ellis to a standout senior season in 2018 with the senior rushing for 1,026 yards and 10 scores.
In his first season at Virginia, Atuaia helped All-ACC running back Taquan Mizzell become the first player in ACC history to rush for 1,500 yards and catch for 1,500 yards in a career. That season, he was one of four players in the FBS that led their teams in both rushing yards (940) and total receptions (52). Â
Atuaia joined Mendenhall at BYU in 2013 as the running backs coach, leading the Cougars to the No. 10-ranked rushing offense (267.3 ypg), setting a school record with 3,475 rushing yards. He tutored Jamaal Williams as the Cougar rushed for 1,233 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013 as a sophomore.
Atuaia was a student assistant at BYU from 2005-11 before becoming the assistant to the athletics director for student services in 2012. He had previously worked as the assistant to the dean of student life at BYU after graduating in 2011 with both a doctor of jurisprudence from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School and a master of public administration.
He played running back at BYU during the 1991 and 1994-96 seasons, helping the Cougars to a 39-11-2 record with three conference titles. As a senior, he started 13 games on BYU's 14-1 Cotton Bowl team that finished the year ranked No. 5 in the country.
A native of Laie, Hawaii, Atuaia served a church mission in Tucson, Ariz., from 1992-93, receiving his bachelor's degree from BYU-Hawaii in 2003. He and his wife Elizabeth, an accomplished recording artist and lead singer for the 1980s pop group The Jets, are parents of seven children.
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