He is a descendent of royalty, a grandson of a High Talking Chief in a small village on the island of America Samoa. Naturally, Marques Tuiasosopo is treated like a king in Seattle.

It makes sense. He usually plays football like one.

The company line is all about balance and a passionate search for offensive help from a spot other than quarterback. The reality at Washington is this:

The No. 15 Huskies have a chance to win a Pac-10 championship and succeed in Saturday's clash with No. 4 Miami because Tuiasosopo is the focal point on run and pass, the team's vocal and emotional spirit, its heart and soul, its everything.

	Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo threw for 2,221 yards and ran for another 541 yards last season.

"Marques is a unique person," said Washington coach Rick Neuheisel. "As our leader, he lacks nothing. But sometimes, he wants to win so much, he becomes involved in too many different areas. He wants to help coach other positions and ends up taking his focus away from where it should be.

"He can't do it all."

He almost can.

He is the only player in Division I history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 200 in one game, a fact he stamped on Stanford last season, a major reason people describe him as more athlete than quarterback. His game has a little of everything, a splash of this and that, a little Sonny Sixkiller on one snap, some Warren Moon and Mark Brunell on the next, and a bit of Damon and Brock Huard the next.

"The winning part always seems to take care of itself with Marques," said senior fullback Pat Conniff. "It's natural for him. He's a warrior. He can win games just on his ability."

Health willing, Tuiasosopo will leave school as the program's all-time leader in total offense. His final collegiate season began as scripted last week, a 44-20 win against Idaho with 223 yards passing and 80 more rushing from the grandson of Chief Asovalu Tuiasosopo from the remote village of Vatia on the island of America Samoa.

Washington had 75 plays against Idaho. Tuiasosopo carried 15 times and threw 30 more. And still, he must be better against visiting Miami, better at getting the Huskies into correct formations and plays, better on deciding when and when not to pitch the ball, better at involving talents like running back Paul Arnold and wideouts like Todd Elstrom and Wilbur Hooks.

Night and day better.

"Definitely, I didn't play my best in the first game," Tuiasosopo said. "I wasn't very happy with my performance at all. I take my effort very seriously and I'm looking forward to raising it this week. It's going to be fun, to see if we're up for the challenge of a team like Miami and all their athletes. I'm going to lead by example. It's what I always do, what I've always done."

It began in those grade-school P.E. classes, when Tuiasosopo treated a game of handball like his next breath depended on his best cross-court smash. He was the one always chosen team captain, the one who made rules for a touch football game at lunch, the one whose name you didn't dare call during red-rover, red-over because, well, he might just break your arm as he broke the chain.

It has been some time since the Huskies played such a national showcase game as this matchup with the Hurricanes. Washington can be as fragile as it is explosive, which all filters through the purple and gold play of its quarterback.

It's in the genes, really. At a very early age, Tuiasosopo chose not to ignore the foot steps laid before him. He never minded being another branch on a family tree flocked with athleticism, never thought against traveling a similar path of his father and uncle and three cousins who played in the NFL, of seven more cousins who played for major college programs.

"There has never been a time when anyone could question my effort," Tuiasosopo said. "People said I went too hard as a kid. I was like 'If I'm going to play, I'm going to play to win.' I've never considered it acceptable to sit down after any sporting event and say I could have played harder.

"I expect the same thing from my teammates. I'm not afraid to get in a guy's face if I think he isn't on the same page as everyone else."

The pages become harder to turn Saturday, the book more difficult to finish. Washington wasn't ready to face Miami last week, which was fine. It didn't have to. It does now. Neuheisel likes his team's chances because he adores the young man who will ultimately decide its fate.

"I hope (Tuiasosopo) is up to the occasion," Neuheisel said. "He normally is when called upon. We are going to need a big-time performance from Marques."

Yeah, and at some point the clouds are going to cover the sun across the Seattle skyline.

So what's new?

Ed Graney covers college football for the San Diego Union Tribune. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.