Masifilo makes his decision

After narrowing his choices down to Cal, Stanford and Washington, Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell defensive lineman Matthew Masifilo ended the suspense this morning by committing to the Cardinal.

Masifilo, 6-3, 260 pounds is one of the top two way lineman in the region but will play defensive tackle for the Cardinal. We really liked him at the NorCal NIKE Camp where he showed very good athleticism running a 5.17 in the 40, 4.71 in the shuttle and jumped 28 inches in the vertical.

Masifilo took official visits to Stanford, Cal, Washington and Oregon but the Cardinal seemed like the front runner from day one.

"Once I took football out of the equation, it became pretty clear for me," Masifilo said. "I liked all those schools but you can't beat the education at Stanford and when I asked myself where I would want to be if I couldn't play football any more, it was clearly Stanford.

"I took my visit there before Coach Harbaugh was hired but I still loved everything about the trip. For a lot of Polynesian players, including myself, it's important to go somewhere and play with other Poly players and Stanford really didn't have that. Saying that, I still felt such a bond with the guys on my Stanford trip and I got over that concern right away.

"When I had a chance to meet Coach Harbaugh, I really liked him a lot. He's a very passionate, energetic guy and I think he's the guy who can turn the program around. The whole staff is like that and I'm really excited to get out there and play for those guys.

"All in all, I just didn't see any negatives about Stanford. When you combine their academics with where I think their football program is going and then add the fact that I love the coaches and I have a lot of family right there by the campus, I knew this was the best thing for me to do.

"I'm definitely relieved the process is over. I actually decided on Stanford last week but wanted to sleep on it over the weekend to be sure I was doing the right thing. Washington and Cal are great schools with great staffs as well and I have nothing but respect for them. It was just for me, Stanford was the perfect fit."