Monday, January 14, 2002

[ COLLEGE FOOTBALL ]

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Recruiting ride: a wing,
many meals and a prayer

This article is the first in a series on college football recruiting. Articles will run each Monday until national letter of intent day (Feb. 6) along with the latest rankings and commitments of Hawaii's top prospects.

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By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

Ah, the life of a football recruit.

Whisked away for weekends in Eugene, Seattle, Boulder or even Manoa. Meals at the finest restaurants on the school's tab. Coaches treating you like their own grandchild.

On the other hand, there are the constant phone calls from those same coaches and the questions from family members, classmates and the media. And while you wrestle over where you'll spend the next four or five years, your future becomes the hot topic of Internet rumor mills.

Three Kamehameha Schools seniors are experiencing the joys and trials of college football's recruiting season.

Defensive linemen Albert Ma'afala and Brandon Ala are still debating the relative strengths of the universities recruiting them, while offensive lineman Enoka Lucas has verbally committed to attend Oregon. And all three are anxiously awaiting Feb. 6, the first day high school seniors can sign a letter of intent.

"In the beginning, it was fun. I never thought this would be happening to me," Ma'afala said.

"But as we're getting closer to February, it's getting more stressful. You have to weigh all your options and you have to deal with people trying to tell you where to go. I'm just trying to pray about it."

Still, the players understand their predicament is one reserved for a fortunate few.

"You know you worked hard for what you get," Lucas said. "You work hard in the weight room and you work hard on the field and this is what you get when you put those two together."

The process starts as early as a player's sophomore year of high school as a trickle of form letters from college programs. By the end of their junior year, the trickle has grown into a torrent.

For Ala, once prized recruiting letters are now treated with the same urgency as credit card applications and sweepstakes entries.

"It was exciting at first," Ala said. "But after a while, it was no big deal. After my junior year, I won't even open them."

And as mail carriers continued to stuff their mailboxes, the phone calls started. Coaches were permitted to personally contact recruits starting Sept. 1, and the players' phones have rarely been silent since.

"They call often," Ala said. "I'm kind of hard to reach, but they leave a lot of messages.

"That first day alone, I got a lot of calls from some schools that I never thought I was going to get calls from. It was overwhelming. I never knew it was going to be that much of a big deal."

After talking to coaches and sifting through the brochures and letters, the players then select up to five schools to visit. Once on campus, they'll meet with coaches and advisors and explore other aspects of college life with their player hosts.

"It's been fun going on the trips and seeing how much they feed us," Ma'afala said. "You go on these trips and it's like every two hours you're eating again at places you never thought you'd be eating at. It's pretty amazing."

Upon returning home, the recruits whittle their choices once more. Ala has shortened his list to Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. Ma'afala is considering Washington, Washington State and Hawaii.

Adding to the pressure of making a decision are the questions and opinions from everyone from parents to everyday fans.

"I try to avoid talking to people about recruiting," Ma'afala said. "It's not that I'm trying to hold out anything, I just really don't know."

When the recruiting process started, Ma'afala consulted his uncles, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Roy Ma'afala, for advice. Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Roy Ma'afala both attended Utah after graduating from St. Louis School.

"They told me from the beginning it was going to be hard and hectic," Ma'afala said. "But they said you have to decide for yourself where you want to go, because you're the one who has to live with that decision for the next four or five years.

"I'm not going to make any commitments before I'm ready," he added.

"I know a couple of people who did that and ended up regretting it."

Lucas made his decision after visiting Oregon and Colorado. He had trips to Washington State, Wisconsin and Utah still available to him, but after talking it over with his family, he decided to end the speculation and commit to Oregon.

"They know it's my choice, and whatever my choice is they'll always back me up," Lucas said.

Ala and Ma'afala said they plan to make their decisions once they complete their visits, and end the wildest ride of their lives. But not before a few more twists and turns.

"Right now, I'm just relying on God," Ala said. "Just constantly praying for the wisdom and knowledge to make the right decision."

Said Ma'afala: "When I put my name on that paper, life is going to get a lot better and a lot less stressful."

HAWAII'S TOP PROSPECTS

The Star-Bulletin's top 10 college football prospects from Hawaii high schools are ranked by Jason Kaneshiro and Dave Reardon, after consultation with high school and college coaches. Other prospects are listed in alphabetical order. The list will be updated weekly until Feb. 6, national letter of intent day, when high school players can first make their commitments binding. Asterisks indicate verbal committments.

PlayerSchool		Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Probable colleges
1. Jonathan Mapu	Kahuku	DE	6-3	250	Wash., Tenn., BYU, Hawaii
2. Brandon Ala	Kamehameha	DE	6-3	210	Ore., Wash., Hawaii
3. Mulivai Pula	Kahuku	RB	5-11	215	Utah, BYU, Hawaii
4. Enoka Lucas	Kamehameha	OL	6-3	285	Oregon*
5. Samson Satele	Kailua	OL	6-4	290	Hawaii*
6. Donny Mateaki	Iolani	DE	6-7	250	Washington*
7. Albert Maafala	Kamehameha	DL	6-2	270	Wash., Wash. State, Hawaii
8. Inoke Funaki	Kahuku	QB/Ath	6-0	180	Hawaii
9. Kaipo Patoc	Mililani	DL	6-2	230	Hawaii*
10. Kalavi Blanchard	Kahuku	OL	6-4	290	Hawaii*
Other Hawaii prospects
Ross Dickerson	St. Louis	SB	5-11	175	Hawaii*
Tala Esera	Kahuku	DL	6-3	245	Hawaii*
Ferron Fonoimoana	Kahuku	WR	5-8	165	BYU
Taualai Fonoti	St. Louis	LB	6-1	240	Stanford, UCLA
Marques Kaonohi	Kailua	OL	6-2	250	Hawaii*
Kahai LaCount	Kailua	OL	6-3	300	Hawaii*
Mesepa Reed	St. Louis	OL	6-5	237	Hawaii, UCLA
Kekoa Reyes	Waianae	QB/DB	6-1	200	Dixie College (Utah)
John Siofele	St. Louis	DL	6-0	255	Hawaii*
Tuika Tufaga	Kahuku	DL	6-1	220	Utah
Dane Uperesa	Punahou	OL	6-5	315	Hawaii*

Other University of Hawaii commitments

Player	School	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Note
Marco Chavez	Palomar JC (Calif.)	LB	6-3	245	Enters UH this semester
Chad Kalilimoku	Santa Ana JC (Calif.)	LB	6-0	235	All-Amer. JC from Roosevelt High
Kenny Patton	St. Francis (Calif.)	CB	6-0	175	Former Punahou player
Jason Whieldon	Saddleback JC (Calif.)	QB	6-1	190	Enters UH this semester

Notes: Mapu and Fonoimoana were among nine recruits who were treated to a luau over the weekend during their trip to the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. Other BYU invitees included defensive lineman Haloti Ngata and quarterback Ben Olsen. Ngata, of Highland High in Salt Lake City, is ranked second among Student Sports Inc.'s Hot 100 recruits. Olsen, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has already committed to BYU and is seventh on the Hot 100 list. Mapu has trips to Tennessee and Hawaii remaining ... Despite an Internet report that Ala committed to Oregon, the Kamehameha lineman is still on the fence, according to his father, former Hawaii player Tui Ala. Tui Ala, who is also the father of UH players Tui and Houston Ala, told the Star-Bulletin that Brandon's decison is all his own. Brandon Ala is among several high-profile local recruits scheduled to visit UH next week. ... Before UH fans get overly excited about talk that some of Kahuku's top prospects want to stay home, consider the words of Red Raider coach Siuaki Livai. "To most of these kids out here," he said, "staying home means UH, BYU or Utah." ... Contrary to previous reports, Hawaii does not plan to extend visits to players who have already made commitments.

--Jason Kaneshiro and Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin