ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saint Louis wide receiver Jason Rivers, who is No. 2 on the Star-Bulletin's Hawaii prospect list, has committed to the Warriors.
Recruits sign Considering the source is never more important than when it comes to football recruiting information.
letters today
Amani Purcell chooses Penn State,
UH commitments
but Hawaii gets more than half
of the Star-Bulletin's top 20
in-state prep prospectsBy Dave Reardon and Jason Kaneshiro
dreardon@starbulletin.com
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comTake the case of Amani Purcell, a linebacker from American Samoa. Yesterday a Penn State fan Web site reported that the 6-foot-5, 250-pound raw talent who rated a visit from Joe Paterno was happily headed to Happy Valley. But last night a source close to the University of Hawaii said it was "50-40" that the Warriors would win a down-to-the-wire battle between UH and ... Utah (presumably, the other 10 percent was Penn State's chance).
The guesswork ended this morning, national letter of intent day, when Purcell told the Star-Bulletin he definitely planned to sign with Penn State later in the day.
"They have a great tradition of defense and it will give me an opportunity to expand my game," said Purcell, who was recruited by Nittany Lions assistant and former UH defensive back Brian Norwood. "Yes, I will sign with them today."
Purcell, whose brother Mel is a Warriors defensive end, may turn out to be the big one who got away.
"My brother talked to me about Hawaii, but I had to make my own decision," Amani Purcell said.
Hawaii did have a solid commitment from Samoa -- offensive lineman Larry Sauafea was expected to sign today. Also, more than half of the top 20 football prospects from the Hawaii high school class of 2003 have agreed to join the Warriors and their letters of intent arrived throughout the day today.
Nine of them have accepted scholarship offers from UH and were expected to make their commitments binding by signing today, the first day high school football players may do so nationwide.
Two others, offensive lineman Joseph Napeahi (No. 16) and linebacker David Alisa (No. 19), both from Kahuku, will walk on at Manoa.
The Warriors got most of the local players they were after, including speedy wide receiver Jason Rivers (No. 2) of state-champion Saint Louis. They were also counting on Kahuku safety Viliami Nauahi (No. 3), after UH beat out Brigham Young. Media outlets in the Provo area reported that Nauahi committed to BYU during his visit last month; Cougarphiles either inferred incorrectly, or Nauahi changed his mind. Sources at UH doubted the rangy Eagle Scout would make a double reverse today.
Rivers could be the prize catch of the class.
But the pressure is on early for the 6-foot-2, 193-pound prep sprint champ; an entire state expects him to step right into a starting spot in June Jones' four-receiver run-and-shoot, especially since it's basically the same offense Rivers played in at Saint Louis.
"I'm just relieved to finally get it done and I can concentrate on the rest of the school year," Rivers said this morning. "I don't think there's any more pressure, I just tried to work hard at everything I do. It just depends on how the coaches look at it and if they give me a chance I'll take advantage of it."
Two of Rivers' teammates, offensive lineman Jeremy Inferrera (No. 9) and linebacker Timo Paepule (No. 10), also said they would sign with UH today.
The No. 1 prospect in the state, Crusaders defensive lineman Tolifili Liufau, told Saint Louis athletic director Cal Lee he would sign with Washington State. But it remains to be seen if Liufau will become eligible academically.
"He has the potential to be an impact player wherever he goes," Lee said. "If he works hard."
Said Liufau: "It's just taking another step in life. I just want to play ball and focus on school."
Several other local athletes are headed to big-name programs, including several offensive linemen: Kamehameha's R.J. Willing (No. 4) is BYU-bound; Kailua's Pat So'oalo (No. 5) is off to Oregon, and Aiea's Brandon Rodd (No. 6) becomes an Arizona State Sun Devil.
Two other Division I schools plucked project players, as Oregon State grabbed Roosevelt defensive end Naymon Frank, and Wisconsin tabbed Kealakehe linebacker James Kamoku.
Hawaii didn't recruit Frank, but did invite Kamoku to walk on.
As usual, the Warriors concentrated on quarterbacks, linemen and cornerbacks.
They feel that Jack Rolovich -- the brother of former Warrior Nick Rolovich of the Denver Broncos and Rhein Fire of NFL Europe -- has the size and arm to possibly outdo his older sibling.
Fleet-footed Ray Bass, another Californian, is taller and just as fast as his brother Mike, and will get his first look at cornerback.
Don't be surprised if one or two of the six or seven new UH offensive linemen eventually end up on the defensive line -- the Warriors lost Saint Louis' Wilson Afoa (No. 7) to Washington.
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As of last night, the following players had agreed to sign national letters of intent to accept football scholarships from the University of Hawaii today. University of Hawaii
commitments*
Name Pos School Height Weight Quin Ah You DL Kahuku 6-3 310 Ray Bass DB Corona (Centennial, Calif.) 5-11 165 Lenny Boatner SB Winston (Philadelphia, Miss.) 5-11 175 Chris Cole LB Mission Viejo, Calif. 5-9 220 DeJuan Gatling OL Silverado (Victorville, Calif.) 6-3 260 Xavier Ho'olulu OL Kailua 6-4 290 Jeremy Inferrera OL St. Louis 6-3 270 Michael Lafaele OL Farrrington 6-1 275 Reggie Maldonado DL Saddleback JC 6-5 260 Viliami Nauahi DB Kahuku 6-2 200 Timo Paepule LB St. Louis 6-0 210 George Perry DB Kahuku 5-11 165 Jason Rivers WR St. Louis 6-2 193 Jack Rolovich QB San Marin (Novato, Calif.) 6-3 210 Hercules Satele OL Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 6-2 250 Larry Sauafea OL Samoana (American Samoa) 6-3 260 Daniel Tautofi LB Kaimuki 6-2 230 Tu Tui DB Kahuku 6-1 195 Tim Wright P SW Mississippi JC 6-2 200 *Note: Several players from former recruiting classes may count as part of this class, due to late enrollment at UH because of religious missions and other reasons. They include DL Matt Faga, DB A.J. Martinez, DL Darrell Tautofi and RB/DB Orlando Wong. Also, SB Jason Ferguson has agreed to accept a scholarship and enter school in 2004.
