Lineman hearing more from Bruins
Emerald Faletuipapai has taken a bunch of unofficial visits to UCLA in the last few weeks and the Gardena (Calif.) Serra offensive tackle said he's grown to like the Bruins' coaching staff much more.
The 6-foot-6, 339-pound three-star prospect has talked with offensive line coach Adrian Klemm a bunch and said he feels welcome on the Westwood campus. More trips are expected as Faletuipapai looks for some offers.
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"The practice was intense," Faletuipapai said of Thursday's workout. "Everyone was live. The new coaches are really making a difference down there.
"The coaches are really cool. They're young so they can really relate to the players especially coach Klemm. He's a really good coach. I talked to him after the practice and he was really welcoming. I talked to a few of their players and they were telling me a lot about the school."
Faletuipapai, who looked good at the recent Asante Trenchmen Academy near Los Angeles, said the UCLA coaches told him he could stop by practice any time he wants and the three-star intents to much more often.
UCLA has emerged as one of the favorites and Faletuipapai said he's going to keep working hard to possibly land an offer as the off-season continues.
"They asked me if I wanted to come to summer camp or basically I can go down to any of their practices," Faletuipapai said. "I want to go. It's just whether I have a ride. I like it there. It's a great environment academically and athletically.
"Of course they'd be one of the favorites. They didn't show a lot of interest in me at first but I think it was just because I didn't know much about them. I was talking to coach Klemm and he was telling me they were watching me since my freshman year and that I've developed a lot."
Washington State continues to show interest in the massive offensive lineman and Faletuipapai said Oregon State has recently reached out as well. Cal and some other Pac-12 schools are also involved.