Rivals 250 OL closing in on decision

After taking his fourth and final official visit this past weekend, Corona (Calif.) offensive lineman Max Tuioti-Mariner is closing in on his decision and could be ready to pop in the next few weeks if not sooner.

Tuioti-Mariner, 6-4, 300 pounds missed his entire senior season due to a torn ACL suffered during spring practice. He was still recruited at a high level and for good reason. When healthy, he's a top 50 player nationally and one of the most dominant lineman we saw during the entire NIKE Camp tour.

Tuioti-Mariner's most recent visit was to Cal this past weekend. He had earlier visited Oregon, Colorado and Arizona.

"He really liked all of his trips," Panther coach John Brandom said. "Everyone offers something different but I think he's about ready to sit down and decide what he wants to do now. He won't be taking a 5th trip, he's done with visits so we're going to sit down pretty soon here, maybe this week and try and figure out where the best place for him is.

"Everyone is still in it but I have a feeling it may come down to Cal and Oregon. Like I said, we really haven't sat down and gone over all the pros and cons of each of the schools so Arizona and Colorado are still right there but just from talking to him a little, I get the feeling Cal and Oregon are the two that he feels the most comfortable with."