Kevin Mawae

Also, he helped the Jets offense average 337.2 yards per game which was the 12th best in the NFL and the passing offense averaged 245.3 yards per game (sixth in NFL).

He was Louisiana State's highest selected offensive lineman since Bo Strange in 1961.

Mawae saw his first pro action at right guard against the Los Angeles Raiders on September 11, and never left the lineup after taking over early in the game versus the Indianapolis Colts.

He finished the season playing in 14 games, starting the final 11 at right guard.

After the season Mawae earned first-team All-Rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers Association, College and Pro Football Newsweekly and Football News.

Kevin James Mawae (born January 23, 1971) is an American football coach and former professional player.

He played as a center in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, most notably with the New York Jets.

Mawae played college football for the LSU Tigers, earning first-team All-SEC honors.

Mawae attended Louisiana State University, where he played for the LSU Tigers football team from 1989 to 1993.

He was redshirted in 1989.

He started seven games at left tackle and was a freshman All-SEC selection in 1990, and also was the Tigers' long snapper.

After his sophomore season, he was a first-team All-SEC selection, having played three different positions: left tackle (8 games), center (3 games), and left guard (1 game).

As a junior, he played left tackle and was chosen second-team All-SEC and was a third-team All-American.

For his senior season he moved from left tackle to center for all 11 games.

He played in the Blue-Gray Game and Senior Bowl after his senior season.

He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft.

Mawae was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (36th overall) of the 1994 NFL draft.

In 1995, he started all 16 games at right guard, seeing time at center in two games.

In his first two seasons he helped pave the way for Seahawks running back Chris Warren to have back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons of over 1,300 yards rushing.

He was moved to the center position at the start of his 1996 season and remained at that spot for the rest of his NFL career.

After joining the Jets in 1998, he received six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and five-first All-Pro honors during his eight seasons with the team.

Mawae spent his final four seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans, extending his Pro Bowl selections to eight and his first-team All-Pro honors to seven.

In 1998, Mawae was signed by the New York Jets.

In his first season in New York, the Jets' offense averaged 357.2 yards per game (second-best in AFC and fourth-best in NFL), while controlling the ball for an average of 32:17 minutes per game (second-best in AFC and third-best in NFL), also helped running back Curtis Martin to rush for franchise-record eight 100-yard rushing games en route to 1,287-yard season.

He started all 16 games.

In 1999, he was named to his first Pro Bowl on December 22, he did not miss a play for the second straight season and paved the way for Martin's then franchise-record of 1,464 yards rushing, and snapped to three different quarterbacks; Vinny Testaverde, Rick Mirer and Ray Lucas.

Mawae earned his second consecutive starting spot as an AFC team Pro Bowl center when he was selected to the Pro Bowl on six consecutive occasions (1999–2004).

During the 2000 NFL season, he was a member of an offensive line that managed to tie the Indianapolis Colts for the fewest sacks allowed during the regular season with 20.

In 2002, he underwent offseason shoulder surgery to repair damage to his left rotator cuff; he missed two preseason games but kept his consecutive games started streak by making 124th consecutive starts.

In the season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

his unbroken streak of 177 games came to an end in October 2005 with a serious triceps injury to his left arm, and he missed the rest of the season.

Mawae was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Near the end of his career, he also served two terms as NFLPA president from 2008 to 2012.

Following his retirement, Mawae pursued a coaching career and was hired by the Colts in 2021 as their assistant offensive line coach.

He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

A military brat, Mawae grew up wherever his father, Sgt. 1st Class David Mawae, was stationed.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, while his father served at Hunter Army Airfield, he spent three years of his childhood (ages 5–7) in Fort Riley, Kansas, and then five years (ages 8–12) in Hanau, (Germany) when his father was stationed at Fliegerhorst Army Airfield.

It was in Hanau where Mawae began playing football.

His father was then stationed at Fort Polk, near Leesville, Louisiana.

Mawae attended Leesville High School, where he was an all-state football selection and earned all-academic honors.