Marcus Anthony Mailei (born October 30, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). After playing

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for the

Weber State Wildcats The Weber State Wildcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Weber State University in Ogden, Utah in intercollegiate athletics, sponsoring 16 teams. The Wildcats compete in NCAA Division I FCS and are charter members (1963) of the Big ...

, 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

from 2009–2010.

Early years

Mailei attended Highland High School in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

and was a

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and rugby, playing for the famous Highland Rugby Team coached by Larry Gelwix. He was rated a two-star prospect by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') 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 found ...

''. 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. ...

'' about Gelwix's life. Mailei is an

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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 in ...

all-star game in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

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 In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

by the

on December 9, 2009, after the team waived

Kyle Eckel Kyle Richard Eckel (born December 30, 1981) is an American former professional football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and won Super Bowl ...

, and played in two games. Eckel was re-signed on December 21 when Mailei was placed on season-ending

injured reserve 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 ...

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 t ...

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