Bio

SENIOR (2016): He was honored as the 2016 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, the group’s third year in existence.  He was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection by the league coaches and a third-team selection of Phil Steele’s College Football.  He was the co-recipient of CU’s Zack Jordan Award (most valuable player) and the recipient of the Buffalo Heart Award (selected by the fans).  He played in 11 games (10 starts; missing two full contests due to an ankle injury sustained at No. 4 Michigan in week three). He was the only Pac-12 offensive player to earn conference player of the week accolades twice during the season, doing so for his performances in the Colorado State and Washington State victories.  He became just the second player in CU history to throw for over 300 yards in a game while also rushing for 100, doing so in the win over Washington State when he threw for 345 yards and rushed for a career-high 108 yards with three TDs on the ground, also a personal-best. For that game he was also named the Rose Bowl Pac-12 Player of the Week, the NFF/Colorado Chapter State of Colorado Player of the Week, earned the Allstate Sugar Bowl Manning Award Star of the Week honor and earned an ESPN Helmet Sticker. Ranked 31st in the FBS with a completion percentage of .628 on the year. He threw for 2,171 yards with 11 touchdowns against six interceptions. He did not throw his first interception of the season until the ninth game of the year (UCLA) and was the last starting QB in the country who had not thrown an interception that late into the season.  He was CU's second-leading rusher on the year with 496 yards and he scored seven touchdowns on the ground.  He earned his first Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week accolade in the first week of the season when he threw for 318 yards on 23-of-33 passing with one touchdown and also added 66 yards rushing. He set two new school records in the season-opening win over Colorado State – surpassing Cody Hawkins as the school’s all-time leading passer and also passed Hawkins for the most offensive plays in school history. Scout.com named him the Pac-12 Player of the Week for his performance against CSU and he was also named a Davey O’Brien Award “Great Eight” National Award winner. In week two against Idaho State, playing just a quarter-and-a-half in a 56-7 win, he threw for 204 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for another score. It was his 22nd career 200-yard passing game, moving him ahead of Cody Hawkins for the most in Colorado history. In week three at  Michigan he completed 16-of-25 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns (long was 70) before exiting in the third quarter due to the ankle injury (with CU holding a 28-24 lead at the time).  He then missed the following two games before playing one series late in the first half at USC (2-of-3 passing for 11 yards). He made his first start returning from the injury against Arizona State and led the Buffs to a 40-16 win with a performance that included 23-of-31 for 265 yards passing with 38 yards and a TD rushing. In that game he extended his current streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception to 123, becoming the first player in school history to have three 100+ streaks (no other CU QB has had more than one such streak). One week later at Stanford he attempted 25 passes in the game without throwing a pick, giving him 148 consecutive attempts without being intercepted – a new school record – which ended in the UCLA victory at 152 consecutive passes. It was one of two records he set in that game, the other being the career record for most passing attempts (1,228). The next week at Arizona marked his 36th career start, passing Darian Hagan (1989-91) for the most starts at the quarterback position in school history. In the win over the Wildcats he threw for 213 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for 56 with one more TD on the ground. He completed healed from a Lisfranc (foot) injury he suffered against USC in the 11th game of the 2015 season that sidelined him for the final two games and all of spring practice. He was fully cleared to participate on all levels in June. Athlon Sports ranked him as the nation’s No. 44 quarterback, but that was before it was announced he was fully able to participate this fall. Three times during the season he was named the CU Athlete of the Week winner (for the CSU, Michigan and Washington State games). Accepted a bit to participate in the 2017 Senior Bowl.

JUNIOR (2015): He started the first 11 games of the season before succumbing to a Lisfranc injury at the end of the first quarter of the Southern California game (Nov. 13), with CU ahead 7-3 at the time and driving for another score.  The foot injury and subsequent surgery (on Nov. 20) ended his season in which he continued his assault on the Buff record book.  He completed 214-of-344 passes for 2,418 yards and nine touchdowns, while throwing just six interceptions, setting a season record for the lowest interception percentage (1.7 percent) for seasons with both 250 and 300 minimum attempts.  He had two runs of over 100 passes without throwing an interception, the first being 107 that ended against Oregon and then one of 118 that came to an end at UCLA; they were the third and fifth longest such streaks in CU history.  His passer rating was 126.4, as nearly half his incomplete passes (63 of 130) were hurried throws.  He finished with 266 rushing yards on 107 tries, but when sacks are eliminated, he actually ran for 416 yards on 84 true attempts, nearly five yards per rush.  For the third straight season, he caught a pass (this time for 12 yards), and when all was said and done, he earned 138 first downs (118 passing, 29 rushing, 1 receiving).  He had three 300-yard passing games, topped by a 389-yard effort at Arizona State (40-25-1, 1 TD) and 339 against Arizona (43-28-0, 2 TD); the other was a 312-yard performance at UCLA (57-37-2, 0 TD).  In that UCLA game, he was one of four players who played all 114 snaps on offense, which set a school record (and it was actually 115 when counting a two-point conversion play).  The coaches, for the second straight year, named him CU’s John Mack Award winner as the most outstanding offensive player, and he was also the choice for the Best Interview Award as selected by the team’s beat media.   He did not have a touchdown pass in the opener at Hawai’i, which ended an incredible run of him throwing at least one touchdown pass in his first 20 career games, which was the longest active streak in the nation at the time (and tied for the fifth-longest in Pac-12 history).  Within that run was a streak of 12 straight games with multiple TD passes, which at one point was the longest streak in the nation.  He was one of 12 players on CU’s leadership council, which essentially served as team captains, and was one of 57 players on the official watch list for the Polynesian Player of the Year Award.

SOPHOMORE (2014): He started 11 games and played in all 12 (did not start at Oregon), setting 51 records over the course of the year.  He earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league coaches, was an honorable mention sophomore All-American by collegefootballnews.com, and was CU’s John Mack Award winner as the most outstanding offensive player.  He set season marks for all major categories: attempts (498), completions (325), passing yards (3,200) and touchdowns (28), with total offense records of plays (567) and yards (3,336).  His five 300-yard games topped the old best by one, and he set records for first downs earned overall (162) and by passing (150).  His best down was on second down, when he completed 70.1 percent of his throws (129-of-184) for 1,000 yards and 11 TDs; he was 110-of-173 on first down (63.6) for 1,248 yards and nine TDs, and was 86-of-141 for 952 yards and eight scores (61.0) on third and fourth down.  He set six school single-game records in CU’s 59-56 double overtime loss at California, when he completed 46-of-67 passes (both records) for 455 yards and seven touchdowns (record), a passer rating of 157.2 (record for a game with 50-plus attempts), amassing 527 yards of total offense (record); he had 10 rushes for 72 yards in that game as well to set the mark of most plays in a game (77).   Other top games included Massachusetts (318 yards, 3 TD), Oregon State (308, 2), Washington (314, 2) and Utah (317, 1).  His season-long 39-yard run against Cal was the longest jaunt by a CU quarterback in four years.  He had at least one touchdown pass in all 12 games, including two or more in the first nine games of the season, and had 20 or more completions in all but one game.  His per game numbers suffered a hit when he saw minimal action against Oregon, as a concussion he suffered the previous week at Arizona limited him in practice and he only appeared for five second half possessions against the No. 3 Ducks (he was just 7-of-14 for 41 yards, but did have a TD).  He caught two passes for 24 yards, one a 7-yard reception from Nelson Spruce against Arizona, the first touchdown of his career.  He directed 157 drives on the year, leading CU to scores 56 times (41 touchdowns).  He was selected by his teammates as one of six team captains for the season; along with Addison Gillam, they were the first two permanent captains elected as sophomores in CU history.  He participated in the prestigious Manning Passing Academy in the summer (second week in July) and was one of 34 players on the initial watch list for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.  He bulked up some 20 pounds from his playing weight as a freshman, and won the Iron Buffalo Award for the quarterbacks for his spring work in the weight room. 

FRESHMAN (2013): He earned honorable mention Freshman All-America honors from collegefootballnews.com and won the team’s Lee Willard Award, presented to the most outstanding freshman.  Only the 10th freshman (six true, four redshirt) to ever start a game at quarterback at Colorado, he became just the third freshman to lead the Buffaloes in single-season passing, joining Craig Ochs (2000, also a true frosh) and Cody Hawkins (2007, a redshirt freshman).  He played in eight games, starting seven; he did not play in the first four games of the year, but appeared for the first time at Arizona State.  He then made his first start in a 43-10 win against Charleston Southern in the sixth game of the season (going 14-of-20 for 198 yards with a TD and no interceptions); those were the fourth-most yards in a CU frosh debut.  His best game of the year came in a 41-24 win over Cal, when he completed 23-of-36 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns (one pick); that tied for the 16th most passing yards for a single-game in CU annals, but the second-most by a freshman (behind only 418 by Koy Detmer vs. Oklahoma in 1992).  He was the Las Vegas Bowl’s player of the week for his effort against the Bears.  He also set true freshman records in five single-season categories: efficiency (128.3), attempts (251), completions (149), passing yards (1,779) and touchdowns (12), also tying the single-game mark the most TD passes by a frosh with the three versus Cal.  He had 40 rushes for 43 yards by NCAA calculation, but minus sacks, he really rushed 30 times for 118 yards; he also caught a pass for 32 yards, the latter from Nelson Spruce in the season finale at Utah.  He accounted for 91 first downs earned overall, and put the Buffs in position to score 36 of 91 drives (39.6 percent).   He threw for over 200 yards four times, and completed at least 50 percent of his passes in all eight games he appeared.
 
HIGH SCHOOL: He earned PrepStar All-West Region honors at quarterback as a senior, when the Seattle Times tabbed him as one of 16 “Red Chips” in the state of Washington (the top honor in the paper’s Seattle 100) and he was selected as one of 12 quarterbacks on the prestigious Tacoma News-Tribune’s Western 100.  He was also selected as an honorable mention “Northwest Nugget” by the News-Tribune, its Top 20 in the Pacific Northwest (seven made the first-team) and was the paper’s Area Player of the Year (he also was the 4A Narrows League player of the year).  ESPN.com ranked him as the No. 19 quarterback in the nation while Rivals.com ranked him No. 27 and SuperPrep tabbed him preseason All-Far West and ranked him as the No. 6 overall player in Washington (the No. 2 quarterback).  Scout.com named him to its West 150 team, the No. 126 player overall and the 11th-ranked quarterback.  In his career, he started at quarterback his sophomore through senior years and led Bellarmine to a 34-5 record, completing 522-of-838 passes for 7,297 yards and 68 touchdowns (with only 20 interceptions); that worked to a 62.3 completion percentage, as he completed over 50 percent of his passes in 33 of 39 games.  He had three 300-yard games, 12 200-yard games and 36 100-yard games in throwing at least two touchdown passes 21 times ( he threw three or more 10 times and four or more on four occasions).  He also rushed for 606 career yards and 18 touchdowns, and in his prep career, accounted for 87 tackles overall.  As a senior, he directed about as balanced an offense as possible, one that averaged 181.6 yards rushing and 182.1 yards passing.  He completed 193-of-280 passes for 2,518 yards (24 TD/5 INT), while rushing 78 times for 291 yards and eight touchdowns; he also handled some spot kicking duties, punting nine times for a 35.4 average (57 long, three inside-the-20) and kicked off four times, three for touchbacks.  As a junior, he was 137-of-228 for 2,253 yards (long of 88, 23 TD/6 INT), with 66 rushes for 249 yards and eight scores.  As a sophomore, he was 192-of-330 for 2,526 yards (21 TD/9 INT), with 66 yards rushing and two touchdowns.  Top games as a senior: despite losing in the state title game to Skyline, 49-24, he threw for a prep career high 373 yards on 33-of-45 passing (3 TD/2 INT); in a 31-12 win over South Kitsap, he was 18-of-25 for 309 yards and four touchdowns; and in a 42-38 loss to Lakes, he was 27-of-38 for 327 yards and three touchdowns (no interceptions).  Top games as a junior: in a 63-0 win over Stadium, he was 11-of-15 for 274 yards and five TDs; in a 37-19 win over Graham-Kapowsin, he completed 13-of-19 passes for 298 yard and three scores (rushing for 27 yards and a fourth TD).  Top games as a sophomore: in a 35-21 win over Shelton, he completed 21-of-30 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns, with two rushes for 25 yards; he was 17-of-22 for 277 yards and a score in a 26-0 win over Stadium; and in a 28-21 comeback win over Bothell in the state quarterfinals, he threw for 202 yards and four touchdowns, as he helped rally the Lions to the win after they fell behind 21-0.  Under Coach Tom Larsen, Bellarmine Prep was 12-2 his senior year, reaching the state title game, 11-1 his junior season (losing in the quarterfinals) and 11-2 his sophomore campaign (reaching the semifinals).  Bellarmine was the 4A Narrows League champions for 2011 and 2012 and was the runner-ups his sophomore year.  He lettered four times in basketball (power forward/center), starting all four years in being named first-team All-Narrows League as a junior and senior.  He had a big junior year, as he averaged 12.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in earning first-team All-League honors and was his team’s MVP in leading the Lions to a 24-5 mark and the Narrows League title.  His top game came in a 66-50 win over Mount Rainier in the state quarterfinals, when he had 20 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), 22 rebounds and seven assists; that game followed a 25-point, 12-rebound effort (also shooting 9-of-12) in a 75-54 win over Snohomish (he was named to the state’s All-Tournament team).  He earned All-Narrows (4A) League honors as a senior, averaging 10.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
 
PERSONAL: He was born October 29, 1994 in Fort Lewis-Madigan, outside of Tacoma, Wash.  An avid soccer fan, his hobbies include playing board games with friends and family.  Father (Joe) was born in American Samoa and was stationed in Colorado Springs from 1986-89 while in the U.S. Army and became a fan of the Buffaloes.  Three uncles played college football, with two going on to play pro ball: Sale Liufau (defensive tackle at Iowa Wesleyan), Sale Isaia (offensive lineman at UCLA and with the New England Patriots) and Jack Thompson (also known as the “Throwin’ Samoan,” a quarterback at Washington State and in the NFL with Cincinnati (which selected him third overall in the 1979 draft) and Tampa Bay.  He is active in community service, volunteering at the Nativity House with his teammates and being an Acolyte (altar server) with his younger cousins.