Monday, January 28, 2002
[ COLLEGE FOOTBALL ]
Mapu whittles There's a chance Jonathan Mapu will choose his father's alma mater.
choice down to 4
On the list are BYU, Hawaii,
Tennessee and WashingtonBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBut that only narrows it down to two.
Simi Mapu was a linebacker at Brigham Young, and then at Hawaii. He lettered for UH in 1975.
Jonathan Mapu, the state's top football prospect, completed his visits to prospective colleges yesterday, returning home to the North Shore from the University of Hawaii campus at Manoa. The Parade All-American from Kahuku High School might decide on a school today, his father said.
Mapu's final four is Brigham Young, Hawaii, Tennessee and Washington. They're in alphabetical order, because Simi Mapu said -- as far as he knew yesterday -- all had an equal shot at the Star-Bulletin's Defensive Player of the Year.
Simi Mapu said he hopes his son will choose Hawaii, but he is not pressuring him in that direction.
"He knows they're all terrific," Simi said. "But his head is spinning right now. We're all going to get together as a family and pray and fast over it. He knows whatever decision he makes his family will support him all the way."
While the Warriors remained in the hunt for the cream of the crop locally, they secured a verbal commitment from a California high school quarterback and were getting close to pledging the top local signal-caller.
Ryan Stickler of Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga accepted a scholarship offer from UH yesterday after his visit, also over the weekend. He doesn't appear on any recruiting lists, but the numbers alone make him a decent prospect.
All-State quarterback Inoke Funaki, No. 8 on the Star-Bulletin's top prospect list, was also among several Kahuku players to visit UH this weekend. He said he enjoyed his first trip ever to the Manoa campus, and will decide between Hawaii and BYU sometime this week after talking to his parents.
Stickler is 6 feet 3 inches and 215 pounds. His junior season was a bust, literally. He suffered a broken collarbone in the second game of the year playing for Rancho Cucamonga High School.
He transferred to cross-town Alta Loma, and put up some great numbers last fall. He passed for 1,575 yards with 118 completions in 165 attempts. Stickler threw for 18 touchdowns and five interceptions, leading Alta Loma to an 11-2 season.
"He's a get-back-in-the-pocket and let-it-go guy with a very strong arm," said his coach, Tom Mitchell. "He's a good decision-maker. Our offense is pretty wide-open for high school, with some five-receiver sets. He was forced to choose between three and four receivers and hit guys on hot routes. He has a lot of poise in the pocket and a quick release. Plus he's big and physical."
Stickler's grades are good enough for entrance to UH, but he still needs to qualify on an entrance exam. When he took the SAT the previous time, it was the morning after he had broken his collarbone.
"He's a bright kid, he'll be OK academically," Mitchell said. "He just wasn't in quite the test-taking mode at that time."
Mitchell said Stickler chose Hawaii over Utah State and Idaho State.
"Quarterbacks get most of their exposure during their junior years," Mitchell said. "Ryan didn't start drawing much attention until after a lot of offers and commitments had been made by the Pac-10 schools."
Simi Mapu said his son (who declined to be interviewed yesterday) enjoyed the visit to UH.
"Most of the time was spent on campus," the father said. "Coach (June) Jones and some of the players talked to him about some of the advantages of staying over going. He took it all in."
Simi Mapu said as far as he can tell there is no leader in his soft-spoken son's mind.
"Even I have a hard time reading him. Washington was in front at one point, but then when we went over old Rocky Top (Simi accompanied Jonathan to Tennessee), that was great, too," the father said. "Today (at UH) was definitely an eye-opener."
BYU is not out of the picture, either. The Mapus are devout members of the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Jonathan's cousin, C.J. Ah You, plays for the Cougars.
Simi Mapu said education is a priority for Jonathan.
"I'm reinforcing that the goal is the degree," he said. "If he has the opportunity, he won't be leaving early for the NFL. It will be 'bring home that diploma,' then he's the man and can do what he wants."
A group of more than a dozen players, including Mapu's and Funaki's teammates at Kahuku -- Ferron Fonoimoana, Kalavi Blanchard, Tala Esera and Mulivai Pula -- also visited UH over the weekend.
Blanchard and Esera have already verbally committed to Hawaii.
Funaki said UH coaches told him they would try him at quarterback first, and possibly move the all-around athlete to receiver or defensive back later.
"I'm fine with any position," he said.
Meanwhile, Punahou quarterback Todd LaFountaine has chosen Harvard over Yale.
"I just told him, 'Whatever you decide is going to be a great choice,'" Punahou coach Kale Ane said.
LaFountaine joins former Pac-Five quarterback Neil Rose, who hosted LaFountaine when he visited. Rose led the Crimson to a 9-0 record last year.
Jason Kaneshiro contributed to this report