Stock heating up for three-star
One of the fastest rising prospects on the west coast is also one of the least known, but anonymity for three-star defensive end/tight end Toa Tuitea (6-3.5, 250, 4.9) from Westminster, Calif., is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Arizona offered the fast rising Tuitea two days ago to join Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Nevada, New Mexico State, Hawai'i, Colorado State and San Diego State,
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Arizona State, Washington State and Fresno State are also showing interest.
A versatile all-around athlete, Tuitea is being looked at for his skills as a tight end. Most of the other schools project him as a defensive player because he's a very physical player.
Maybe the most impressive thing about Tuitea is he leads the team in tackles from his strongside defensive end with 85 stops to his credit. He also has 12 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Tuitea is one of the main reasons Westminster took the league title and are heading into the playoffs this Friday.
Excellent play is nothing new to Tuitea, he was selected his league's Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. He was also an all-CIF selection his 2006 performance.
Westminster coach Ted McMillen gives us a clue on why his star player is attracting all his recruiting attention.
"Toa gets off the ball really well," McMillen said. "He's extremely explosive. That's the thing recruiters always comment on is his explosiveness.
"Toa has natural strength and he has weight room strength, too," McMillen said. "He's a hard worker, good practice player and a team player. He does everything the coaches ask of him.
"Toa is very humble," McMillen said. "He's just a really good kid. He wants to play at a school that is a good fit for him academically.
"Toa visited Ole Miss when they played Florida and he liked the fan support in the SEC," McMillen said. "They take football seriously down there.
"He still has some visits and the plan is to take all five official visits before making his decision," McMillen said. "He has visit set to Hawai'i for mid December and Arizona interests him because it is in the Pac 10.
"The thing about Toa is, he's not afraid to travel," McMillen said. "He lived a lot of his life in Missouri.
"Toa has tremendous upside," McMillen said. "He's only been playing organized football for three years.