Hawaii standout says team tough to beat
With his high school football season now at its conclusion, offensive lineman Dane Uperesa is starting to concentrate harder on the recruiting process.
“It’s time for me to get things going,” Uperesa explained. “I’m playing basketball, but the coach here is good about letting me schedule visits for certain times.”
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It looks like USC, Hawaii and possibly Oregon, Washington and Nebraska may receive official visits.
His affection for USC has been well documented.
Not only is his uncle, Keith Uperesa, the offensive line coach for the Trojans, but the Punahou High School star also grew up in Los Angeles, living there until he was eight years old.
Hawaii is the local school and their coaches are telling Uperesa that he fits their pass-oriented style. Uperesa went to the UH game this weekend, and expects to return for an official visit.
As for Oregon, the Ducks’ staff had an assistant coach visit Punahou High School last week. The coach ended up watching some of the nimble-footed Uperesa’s basketball practice.
Washington and Nebraska have made some contact, but not much other than a couple of phone calls and numerous letters.
Uperesa says USC will be tough to beat, and it’s a fact he doesn’t hide from anyone, although he does want to keep his options open.
“A lot of coaches call here and ask me if I’m automatically committed to USC,” he said. “They ask if they should even be recruiting me.”
“I tell them to keep recruiting me, because I want to make my visits and see what is all out there. But I’m honest with them, too. I do like SC.”
Uperesa has yet to schedule any official visits, although he says USC and Hawaii have opened the discussion with him about it.