Tai Lavatai
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2023) |
| Navy Midshipmen – No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Major | Mathematics with Economics |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 221 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Creekside (St. Johns, Florida) |
Tai Lavatai is a former American football quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen.
Early life and high school
[edit]Lavatai grew up in St. Johns, Florida and attended Creekside High School where he lettered in football and baseball. In his high school career, Lavatai completed 124 of his 272 pass attempts for 1,772 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Lavatai would also rush for 607 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also hauling in a reception for 36 yards.[1] Lavatai would decide to commit to play college football at the United States Naval Academy.[2]
College career
[edit]During Lavatai's true freshman season in 2020, he did not see any action on varsity.[3]
During the 2021 season, he started and played in all 10 games and finished the season with 371 rushing yards, seven touchdowns and 170 carries (both being a team high record). He also completed 34 out of 61 passing attempts for 449 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.[4][5] During the team's yearly game against Army, Lavatai led the team to a win with 62 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries while also completing four out of six passing attempts for 82 yards which are the second-most passing yards in his career.[6]
During the 2022 season, he played in and started the first eight games before suffering a season ending injury while playing against Temple.[7] Prior to the season, he was named to the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watch List.[8] Lavatai finished the season with 309 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 115 carries while also completing 42 out of 91 passing attempts for 785 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions along with a 26 yard touchdown pass which was the first of his career.[9]
During the 2023 season, Lavatai was named the starting quarterback for the third consecutive year after suffering an injury during the previous season.[10] After the Week 5 game against North Texas, he was named as a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award.[11] During the Week 6 game against Charlotte, Lavatai made only one offensive possession before suffering through a rib injury and not returning to the game.[12]
Statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Navy Midshipmen | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | — | Did not play | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 10 | 10 | 4−6 | 34 | 61 | 55.7 | 449 | 7.4 | 5 | 2 | 138.1 | 170 | 371 | 2.2 | 7 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 8 | 3−5 | 42 | 91 | 46.2 | 785 | 8.2 | 5 | 3 | 130.2 | 115 | 309 | 2.7 | 5 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 5 | 2−3 | 40 | 75 | 53.3 | 522 | 6.8 | 4 | 2 | 124.1 | 56 | 171 | 3.1 | 2 | |
| Career[13] | 25 | 23 | 9−14 | 116 | 227 | 51.1 | 1,756 | 7.7 | 14 | 7 | 130.3 | 341 | 851 | 2.5 | 14 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "Tai Lavatai's Creekside High School Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Tai Lavatai, Creekside, Quarterback". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Tai Lavatai". Navy Midshipmen.
- ^ Darden, Karl (August 1, 2022). "One Mid's Journey: A Look At Navy Quarterback Tai Lavatai's Road To Annapolis". Navy Sports Nation. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Tai Lavatai 2021 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Lavatai runs for 2 TDs, Navy's D dominates in win over Army". Spectrum Local News. December 11, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Davis, Spenser (October 29, 2022). "Navy quarterback suffers season-ending injury 2 weeks before facing Notre Dame". Saturday Road. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Junior Quarterback Tai Lavatai on the 2022 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watch List". Navy Midshipmen. August 18, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Tai Lavatai 2022 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Luke (August 23, 2023). "Navy HC Brian Newberry: Tai Lavatai Will Likely Start At QB Against Notre Dame, But …". PressBox. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Wagner, Bill (October 13, 2023). "Navy quarterback Tai Lavatai hopes to continue Comeback Player of the Year campaign at Charlotte". Capital Gazette. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Wagner, Bill (October 14, 2023). "Navy football beats Charlotte, 14-0, after freshman QB Braxton Woodson takes over for injured Tai Lavatai". Capital Gazette. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Tai Lavatai College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.