Hatchie one of Hawaiis best

Waialua, Hawaii, offensive tackle Micah Hatchie is one of the nation's best offensive tackles.

However, his name hasn't been mentioned nationally as much as it should be probably because he's from Hawaii. That's still not stopped him from getting plenty of major attention from schools that recruit the state of Hawaii.

"It's going pretty good," Hatchie, who is 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, said. "I have seven offers right now: Hawaii, Stanford, Arizona, SMU, Washington, Oregon and Colorado. I would say I've been talking to Hawaii, Oregon, Stanford, Washington and Colorado the most."

And from that group a few schools seemingly have caught his eye.

"Hawaii is pretty good right now," Hatchie said. "They're getting new facilities put up right now, and I would say they're doing a pretty good job right now. They're getting things back in shape. I've been talking to coach Mack (Greg McMackin), Gordon Shaw and Tony Tuioti. They check up on me every once in awhile."

At one point, Hatchie said he came close to committing to the Warriors.

"I wanted to, but my parents told me to wait," he said. "I'm glad I waited."

Then is Oregon, Stanford and Washington.

He's recently taken visits to Stanford and Oregon, and liked what he saw. Washington is interesting because of the relationship he's built with the coaches.

"Stanford is a good school," Hatchie said. "He they're a really good school. The coaches are cool there, and while I was up there watching practice it was intense. It was pretty cool. Coach Jim Harbaugh is very fun. Oregon is a good school. They have really good academics and their facilities are nice. Their coaches are pretty cool too. We talk once every week.

"Washington, they're coming off a pretty bad season but I think this year they'll do a lot better. Their new coaching staff is good."

Hatchie plans on visiting a few other schools on his list some time soon.

"I might take them during football season or after it," Hatchie said. "I want to visit Colorado, Washington and Oregon. I'm not sure about the other schools yet."

He's not sure because a few other schools like Cal, UCLA, Oregon State and Louisville are talking to him also and could be sending him an offer soon.

"There should be some more offers coming in soon," he said. "Cal, UCLA, Oregon State maybe, Louisville maybe. I bumped into coach Tosh Lupoi from Cal last week. It went pretty good."

For some players in Hawaii, leaving home can be a difficult task, but Hatchie said he's open to the idea if he can find the right fit.

"I would like to get away, and I wouldn't mind going away from home for a little bit," he said. "I want to try different cultures and different locations. I'm looking for a team that likes to play football for the love of the game, have fun and a good coaching staff that can help you always balance your school and career."

So why are these schools so interested in Hatchie?

"My size, my technique and my footwork," Hatchie said. "I'm going into my fourth year of being a starter. Last year we were 2-6. We did pretty good. We could have won more, but we kind of gave up in the second half of games."