SoCal OL Solo Vaipulu should see recruitment pick up soon

If his performance at the Speed Power Exposure Elite Camp event in Louisiana a few weeks ago is any indication, Corona-Centennial offensive lineman Solo Vaipulu is ready to turn the interest teams have been showing him into offers sooner than later.

He’ll be playing center this season, but is strong and athletic enough to play anywhere in the interior of the line. That sort of power and versatility is what has Pac-12 coaches keeping a close eye on him - and he may not stay a secret for much longer.

With interest coming in from the likes of Illinois and South Carolina as well as plans to make visits to a number of schools over the spring, Vaipulu is likely to see an uptick in interest in the near-future.

On relationship with UCLA head coach Jim Mora

“He just said that he’s going to keep in contact with me this spring and he just wants to see me keep getting better,” he said. “I didn’t really go for them at first, but once Coach Mora started to talk to me I started to follow them more.”

“It was a little bit of a bumpy year for them,” he said. “But they have a lot of people committed to them right now. I just think Coach Mora is a good guy - he’s on your side. He’s just a good guy to talk to and I really connect with him.”

On mutual interest from Washington

“I’m actually really excited to be hearing from them,” he said. “Growing up my whole life I’ve been a fan of Washington. They like me at center, and obviously I’m going to be playing that this year, so we’ll see how that goes.”

“I know they like to establish a balanced offense between the run and the pass,” he said. “I haven’t had the chance to take a visit out there yet, I’ll work on getting out there this spring. I just want to get more familiar with the O-Line coach and what kind of schemes they run up front.”

On Oregon

“I’m not that familiar yet with their new coaches,” he said. “I’ll probably take a visit up there too and hit one of their camps. They’re a great program, they’re just starting to rebuild. They were running pretty much the same offense as Centennial: Fast-paced, up-tempo, quick and high-scoring game.”

Vaipulu is still waiting to get his first offer, but has the feel of a recruit that will start picking them up in bunches after the first one comes through. He said that he’s not in a rush to make a commitment ahead of his senior season, and with other teams like Colorado, Colorado State, and Arizona checking up on him regularly, he’s wants to make sure he knows he’s the right fit in a place before making a decision.