Tonga down to two

A lineman we've liked a lot for the past couple of seasons is San Mateo (Calif.) Aragon's Matangi Tonga. The talented defensive lineman is down to two schools and will visit each of them these next two weeks in January.

Tonga, 6-1, 265 pounds plays defensive end in high school but may project even better down the line as a tackle. He's very quick off the ball, is naturally strong and plays with a motor. He looked good last summer at the NorCal Nike camp as well as USC's rising senior camp.

On the recruiting front, Tonga has narrowed his choices to BYU and Oregon and will visit each school in the next couple of weeks.

"I'm going to BYU this weekend (Jan. 6) and then Oregon (Jan. 13)," Tonga said. "Those are my final two and I'll make my decision after my visits. My brother (Manase) is going to be hosting me this weekend and I'm looking forward to checking things out.

"Right now, the two are even and I couldn't decide today if I had to. I like Oregon because it's in the Pac 10 and they have a lot of Polynesian players there and a lot of LDS players as well. I also like the coaches they have and Coach Ferigno has been recruiting really hard.

"With BYU, I like the program a lot, my brother is there and I like Coach Doman a lot. It's going to be a tough decision and it's probably going to come down to a gut feel for me. The overall atmosphere and and how well I get along with the coaching staff will matter a lot as well but it will be where I think I fit in the best."

Tonga finished the year earning 1st team all Bay-Area as well as city Player of the Year honors this past year.