BYU lands another big-time commitment
BYU went back to the well at The Oakridge School in Arlington, Texas. After picking up commitments from former Texas commit Ross Apo and his teammate Teu Kautai out of the Texas high school program, BYU made it three for three on Tuesday with the commitment of offensive tackle/defensive end Tayo Fabuluje Jr..
Fabuluje recently earned a BYU offer after working out at its camp as a defensive end though many schools were recruiting him as an offensive tackle. The BYU offer added to offers from the likes of Arizona, Arkansas, Nebraska, Purdue, Kansas State and others. However, the offer from the Cougars was the one he was looking for and on a return visit this week to observe BYU's padded camp, Fabuluje made it official.
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"I just came up here to watch the BYU padded camp and after I went through all the ins and outs of it with my family, coaches and friends, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to commit to BYU," Fabuluje said.
The big 6-foot-6, 260 pound athlete spoke highly not only of the football program in Provo but also the off the field atmosphere that he would be walking into.
"It's just the all-around aspect of what they're about," he said. "Faith, family and friends, learning and football. You can't find the combination of all those at any other school in the nation. I'm not putting down any other schools but just being here, not even being associated with football you can just feel it. Everybody is so family oriented and everybody is together."
That welcoming atmosphere starts with the head coach and Coach Bronco Mendenhall clearly has left a favorable impression on Fabuluje.
"Coach Mendenhall is amazing," he said. "He's interested in what's going on in more than football. He cares about what's going on with the team outside of football, how they act, their faith. He's been amazing. He and coach Kafusi, they've just inspired me."
Obviously, BYU would have been a tough school to beat for any program regardless of any other circumstances, but the fact that two of his good friends and teammates were already committed only sealed the deal.
"Ross and Teu, they both go to school with me," he said. "I grew up with them and went to school with them since 3rd grade. Knowing I can play with them for four more years, we're all fired up about it. That was a factor but I knew I wasn't just going off that. I had to do my homework also."
The commitment is BYU's 15th public commit of the 2010 class and adds more momentum to an already outstanding recruiting cycle for Coach Mendenhall and his staff.