Warriors hope red turns to green
| • | UH's local recruits do more than stay at home |
| • | Lineman Moenoa takes over as host with the most |
| • | Chart: Hawai'i's top high school football prospects |
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
And you thought the Kahuku High School football parades were over with in December.
There was one more this weekend, through the University of Hawai'i's Manoa campus. This parade, however, consisted of only six Red Raiders, all of whom UH is hoping will join the Warriors' bandwagon this fall.
Defensive end Jonathan Mapu, ranked No. 1 among The Advertiser's top local prospects, can be considered "Grand Marshal." He leads a march on the official visit that includes teammates Mulivai Pula (No. 6), Inoke Funaki (No. 9), Kalavi Blanchard (No. 11), Ferron "Loga" Fonoimoana (No. 18) and Darrell Tachibana.
Blanchard, an offensive lineman, already has verbally committed to attend UH. Mapu, Pula and Funaki reportedly have been offered scholarships by Hawai'i, and Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said Fonoimoana could receive an offer during the visit. Tachibana's status probably depends on whom the Warriors get commitments from.
"UH wanted them to all come together," Livai said. "That way, it's more of a guarantee they'll like it. But we'll see for sure how good UH is as a host."
No matter what happens, it's an emphatic end to the weekly visits Hawai'i and other colleges have used to recruit players since late November. Among The Advertiser's top 18 prospects, Mapu, Pula, Funaki and Fonoimoana are the only ones who have not yet given verbal commitments.
Mapu is No. 1 on the list, but not by a big margin. Iolani defensive end Donny Mateaki, who has committed to Washington, is a close second. No. 3 Brandon Ala, a defensive end/linebacker from Kamehameha, also committed to Washington.
As far as being coveted, those three separated themselves from the pack based on offers from Nebraska, Colorado, Washington and Hawai'i. Mapu also was recruited by Penn State, Mateaki by Wisconsin and Ala by Oregon.
College coaches are not allowed to comment on prospects until Feb. 6, the first day high school players can sign national letters of intent. But recruiting services and Web sites have plenty to say about Hawai'i's top players.
Although Mapu is regarded by many college coaches as No. 1, Student Sports Inc. ranks Mateaki as the nation's 53rd best overall prospect. Mapu is No. 77.
Student Sports Inc., a national magazine and Web site, operates 12 Nike Football Training Camps across the nation. Its nine-member panel of recruiting "experts" thus gets to see first-hand more than 2,200 of the country's top prospects.
PacWestFootball, a popular recruiting Web site, has Mateaki ranked No. 1 among defensive ends on the West Coast. Mapu is ranked No. 6 among defensive tackles. Ala is No. 4 on the defensive ends list.
In the similarly recognized Rivals.com 100, Mapu is ranked No. 33 overall and Mateaki No. 70. Among strongside defensive ends, Rivals has Mapu at No. 3 and Mateaki No. 6. Kailua's Samson Satele, who has committed to UH, is No. 11 at offensive guard and Ala is No. 13 at inside linebacker.
Rankings aside, Mapu is the one everybody wants right now because he is the last huge catch still available. A Seattle newspaper reported last month that he had committed to Washington, but Livai quickly said that report was false.
Mapu has since taken trips to Brigham Young and Tennessee, with glowing reviews of each.
"Every time he's come back, he felt like that was the place (to be)," Livai said. "When he came back from Tennessee, he just shook his head and said, 'That (school) is big-time.'"
Mapu canceled visits to Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin and Oregon. Livai said Mapu decided to take his visit to UH in part because of convenience.
"He didn't want to fly again," Livai said. "Everybody wanted him to visit, but UH is right here, so it's not like he has to go far."
And Hawai'i's chances?
"It's a far shot," Livai said, "but you never can tell."
Livai said UH has a much better chance of landing Pula, a running back, and Funaki, a quarterback. They shared Advertiser State Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Pula, who visited Utah and Brigham Young, reportedly still needs to raise his grade point average and SAT scores to qualify to play as a freshman. Livai said Utah may still admit Pula if he doesn't qualify, meaning he would have to sit out his freshman season.
Livai added that Funaki, who passed for 2,446 yards and 29 touchdowns this past season, could be the sleeper in this year's talent pool.
"He's not even scratching the surface of his potential," Livai said. "He can sit in the pocket and throw it, and if he senses the rush and scrambles, that could be the best play in the book. You cannot count out his athletic ability. (UH coach) June Jones knows what he's doing, so for him to offer Inoke a scholarship to play quarterback, that speaks highly to the rest of the nation."
St. Louis linebacker Taualai Fonoti, ranked No. 4 by The Advertiser, committed to Stanford and Kamehameha offensive lineman Enoka Lucas, Ranked No. 8, committed to Oregon. That means four of The Advertiser's top eight are headed to the Pac-10 Conference.
Student Sports Inc., citing the commitments from Mateaki and Ala, ranks Washington's recruiting class No. 16 in the nation.
Still, Livai said Hawai'i has been successful so far in keeping most of the local talent home.
"I think UH is doing real good this year," Livai said. "They're doing better than last year, and way better than the year before that."
Of course, the icing on everybody's cake would be Mapu.
"I'm glad I'm not in his situation, having to decide," Livai said. "But you know, you don't get this chance but once in your life. It's a good situation for high school football in Hawai'i, because all these colleges have a lot of good things to say about our players. The kids complain about all the phone calls and the reporters, but it's not going to be like this very long, so they might as well enjoy it while they can.
"After Feb. 6, no one is going to call."
