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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1962-03-24)March 24, 1962 (age 63) Oakland, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Encinal (Alameda, California) | ||||||||||||
| College | Washington State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1986: 10th round, 261st overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Taivale "Junior" Tautalatasi Jr. (born March 24, 1962) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWashington State Cougars and was selected in the 10th round of the1986 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for thePhiladelphia Eagles andDallas Cowboys.
Born inOakland, California to aSamoan American family, Tautalatasi graduated fromEncinal High School in nearbyAlameda in 1981.[1][2][3] After high school, he began his college football career atChabot College, a junior college inHayward where he would play in the 1981 and 1982 seasons.[4]
He then transferred toWashington State University.[5] After redshirting the 1983 season, he played in1984 and1985 with theWashington State Cougars, while playing behindRueben Mayes (conference rushing leader) and Kerry Porter.[5] With Washington State, Tautalatasi rushed for 402 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.[6]
Tautalatasi was selected by thePhiladelphia Eagles in the tenth round (261st overall) of the1986 NFL draft.[7][3] He made the team after showing big play potential in the preseason.[8][9] He appeared in all 16 games as the team's third down back and started 2 games, including the season opener, whileKeith Byars was recovering from a foot injury. Although he was slowed down by a right knee injury,[10] he finished with 41 receptions (second on the team) for 325 receiving yards (fourth on the team) and 51 carries for 163 rushing yards.[11] He had 11 receptions in the tenth game against theNew York Giants. He recorded a 50-yard run in the seventh game against theDallas Cowboys. He made a 56-yard reception in the fifth game against theAtlanta Falcons.[12]
Buddy Ryan, Tautalatasi's head coach with the Eagles, was unable to pronounce his last name and referred to him most often as "Junior Smith".[13] In1987, he posted 25 receptions for 176 yards and 26 carries for 69 yards.[3] On November 9, 1988, he was waived to make room forrunning backWalter Abercrombie.[14] Tautalatasi concluded the 1988 season with 48 receiving and 28 rushing yards.[3]
On September 26,1989, he was signed by theDallas Cowboys as afree agent. A backuprunning back, Tautalatasi had 157 receiving yards and 15 rushing yards in six games.[3] He was released on August 26,1990.[15]