UH leads competiton for top d-lineman
July 10th, 2009 by Stephen Tsai
The Warriors have emerged as the early leaders in the recruiting competition for Aiea defensive tackle Lawrence Lagafuaina.
Lagafuaina said he told the UH coaches: "I'd love to be a Warrior."
But he stopped short of making a firm verbal commitment. That could come after he takes a recruiting trip to the Manoa campus. The earliest official visit can't be made until after Sept. 1.
Lagafuaina's stock is rising because of his size (6 feet 1, 315 pounds) and athletic ability (he plays basketball for Na Alii, and is one of the state's top competitors in the shot put).
Lagafuaina has been on the varsity each of his first three years at Aiea.
"He was mature for his age," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "We expect a big season from him."
Lagafuaina has strong ties to UH. His cousin is Maa Tanuvasa, a former UH defensive tackle.
Aiea's defensive coordinator (Mika Liilii) and defensive line coaches (Nalei Cox, George Noga and Ed Ripley) are all former UH players.
Lafafuaina said he has received scholarship offers from Washington, UCLA, UNLV and Wyoming. He has drawn interest from California and Oregon State.
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LAWRENCE LAGAFUAINA DT, 6-1, 315 lbs. (4.9 40 yd dash)
(Aiea HS - Aiea, HI)
(Offered Scholarship)
(Also have offers from UCLA, UNLV, Washington, and Wyoming.)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXSy5p_I8M
http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/recruitin ... ay-2-51296
Warrior Beat: http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com/2009 ... /#comments
Rivals.com profile: (3-stars) http://usc.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp? ... 23&sport=1
Scout.com profile: http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p= ... id=4325911