Hawaii DL enjoys visit No. 3

Matthew Masifilo, the 6-3, 260 pound defensive lineman took his third official visit this past weekend to Cal. The talented tackle has already visited Oregon and Washington and despite a coaching change, will still visit Stanford this weekend.

Masifilo is one of the top defensive linemen in the West region and a player we really liked at the NorCal NIKE Camp. The tackle has a very good combination of size, speed and strength and showed it running a 5.17-40, jumped 28 inches in the vertical and did 23 reps on the bench.

As for his visit to Cal, Masifilo had nothing but positives to say about the trip.

"I really liked everything about it," Masifilo said. "I like the location a lot, the coaches were great and I got along great with the players on the team. Berkeley is a nice city and I like the area a lot.

"They have a lot of Polynesian players on the team so I felt really comfortable and at home with the guys there. My host was Nu'u Tafisi but I hung out with a lot of the guys on the team and everyone there gets along really well.

"As for the trip, all the visits are basically the same. You tour the campus and the football facilities, eat a lot of food and meet with the coaches. It was good though, like I said, I really got along well with everyone and it was fun being there at the game. I like Coach Delgado a lot and he's a very good defensive line coach. He's pretty innovative and does a nice job with those guys."

Masifilo found out this morning that Stanford coach Walt Harris was let go but he said he still plans to take his visit this weekend.

"I would have liked to wait and take my visit after they hired a new coach but my dad is spending the week in Palo Alto," Masifilo said. "I have a ton of family about five minutes from the campus and my dad is spending this week visiting them. He's going with me on the trip and it was more convenient to just go ahead and take it this weekend.

"I'm still looking forward to the trip and excited to meet the guys on the team. That's pretty important to me because it's the guys on the team that you spend the most time with. I went to Junior Day at Stanford so I have already seen the campus and know a lot about the school but I just want to see how I bond with the guys on the team.

"I talked with Coach Nelson and Coach Preston and they're still looking forward me to visiting. I know it's been put out there that Stanford is my top school but right now, everyone is basically equal and I'm going to wait until all my trips are done before naming a leader."

As for home visits, Masifilo has a full plate there as well.

"Coach Greatwood at Oregon came over last week," Masifilo said. "Oregon State and Washington came by the school this morning and Coach Delgado is coming over tomorrow. Coach Willingham had breakfast with my dad this morning as well.

"Right now, I think the Stanford visit will be my last and I'll decide between these four schools. Oregon State still wants me to visit and that's a possibility but I'm leaning towards making the Stanford visit my last. I won't make my decision until I meet the new coach at Stanford. Once my visits are over, I'll sit back, evaluate everything and then make the best decision for me."