Mao Tosi

Falemao "Mao" Tosi (born December 12, 1976) is a former American football player, a defensive tackle for two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is the only Samoan to date to be named Alaska's high school basketball player of the year.

Mao Tosi
refer to caption
Tosi in 2011
No. 78
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1976-12-12) December 12, 1976
Manuʻa District, American Samoa
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:341 lb (155 kg)
Career information
High school:East Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska)
College:Butler CC (1996–1997),
Idaho (1998–1999)
NFL Draft:2000 / Round: 5 / Pick: 136
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:59
Sacks:1.0
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Born in Manuʻa District, American Samoa, he moved with his family at age three to San Diego, California, and to Anchorage, Alaska, about a decade later.[1] When his parents returned to San Diego, he stayed in Anchorage with an older brother. At East Anchorage High School, he starred in basketball for the Thunderbirds with teammate Trajan Langdon.[2]


College

After graduation from high school in 1995, Tosi received a basketball scholarship to Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, northeast of Wichita. The Grizzlies were ranked #1 in the country during the 1996–97 season, and finished third in the NJCAA Tourney during the 1995–96 season.

He received a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he excelled as a dual-sport athlete,[2] also playing football for the Vandals at defensive tackle in 1998 and 1999.[3] In 1998, Idaho won the Big West Conference title and upset Southern Mississippi in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise and finished with a 9–3 record.[4][5][6][7][8] The next year, the Vandals were 7–3 entering the final game against rival Boise State for the conference title,[9] but Tosi was kept out by the medical staff due to a neck stinger, and the Vandals were soundly defeated.[3][10]

Pro football

At the 2000 NFL Draft, he was selected in the fifth round (136th) by the Arizona Cardinals, where he started ten games as a rookie and led the defensive line in tackles.[11] Injured in his third season in 2002, and was diagnosed with a genetic defect in his neck, spinal stenosis, which ended his playing career.[1]

After football

Tosi moved back to Alaska to raise his young family. In 2006, Tosi founded AK P.R.I.D.E. (Alaskan People Representing Integrity and Diverse Experiences) to combat gang activity and help teenagers.[12] In 2014 he ran unsuccessfully for the Anchorage Assembly.[13]

References
  1. Doogan, Sean (July 23, 2013). "Mao Tosi: Next mayor of Anchorage?". Anchorage Daily News. (Alaska). Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  2. Meehan, Jim (March 6, 1998). "The Incredible Bulk". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  3. Pond, Alex (November 22, 1999). "Stinger forces tough conclusion for Tosi". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 3B.
  4. Meehan, Jim (December 31, 1998). "Destiny smiles on Idaho: UI stuns Southern Miss". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  5. Johnson, David (December 31, 1998). "Vandals seize the moment". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
  6. Sahlberg, Bert (December 31, 1998). "True Humanitarians". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  7. Pond, Alex (December 31, 1998). "Vandals victorious". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
  8. "Idaho stuns S. Mississippi in Boise bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 31, 1998. p. 2D.
  9. Pond, Alex (November 20, 1999). "Vandals, Broncos put their seasons on the line". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  10. Pond, Alex (November 22, 1999). "Broncos buck UI bowl bid". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  11. "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  12. "Mao Tosi…Big Man On The Move". Illaska. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  13. Sean Doogan (12 April 2014). "Lessons learned: First-time candidate Mao Tosi ready for another possible political run". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
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