Mark Atuaia

Biography

Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs 2nd Year Mark Atuaia is set to enter his second season as the running backs coach with Utah in 2026, also adding assistant head coach to his role this year. In his first season with the Utes in 2025, Atuaia's charges were led by Wayshawn Parker, who ran for 981 yards on the way to Third Team All-Big-12 honors. The Utes set a new school record with 3,462 rushing yards, passing the 1984 team, which racked up 3,263 yards on the ground. Utah also set a new program best with 41 rushing touchdowns in Atuaia's first season, surpassing the 2022 team's 38. Atuaia spent the previous three seasons as the running backs coach and associate head coach at Washington State. At Washington State, Atuaia had been integral in the development in the run game the past three seasons for the Cougars. In 2024, he coached true freshman Wayshawn Parker to post 735 rushing yards on 137 carries (5.4 ypc) with four touchdowns to earn a spot on the Pac-12 Football "Top Performers" list. In 2023, he also mentored a young nucleus that included three of the top four running backs on the team being underclassmen. That trio averaged 5.28 yards per carry that season with Washington State also setting a season-high of 229 rushing yards against Northern Colorado. During his first season at Washington State in 2022, Atuaia mentored junior Nakia Watson to an All-Pac-12 year after he recorded 769 yards on the ground with nine touchdowns. Watson finished the season ranking fourth in