Tupai taking things slow

Four-star defensive end Maxs Tupai has been fairly quiet on the recruiting front and that's by design even though several college programs are in pursuit of his signature.

The Rivals250 prospect from Murray, Utah, drew visits Oregon State and Utah earlier this week and a few other coaches have expressed interest, too.

Yet, according to Murray football coach Mike Richmond, the process might not unfold until the weeks leading up to National Signing Day. Tupai has not taken any official visits and likely will be busy with trips in January following the dead period.

Maxs Tupai of Murray High School makes cut to final 5 in National Butkus Award....#MWEFamily pic.twitter.com/j2tz9NbNQw- Mountain West Elite (@MtnWestElite) November 24, 2015

IN HIS WORDS: "A number of schools have been interested in him and continue to show interest, with basically the entire Pac-12 after him," Richmond told Rivals.com. "There are some SEC schools showing interest, including Mississippi State which has already offered, and some Big Ten schools.

"As far as who is on top of his list, he doesn't know yet because he has not had any official visits. He's planning to do that in January. Right now he's a top five finalist for the high school Butkus Award. He doesn't really like the attention; that's his personality. But when he steps on the field, he's fierce and aggressive."

WHAT'S NEXT?: Richmond added that he and others have advised him to settle on a couple schools, take his visits and then make a decision sooner rather than later because the process would only get more stressful leading up to the first Wednesday in February. For now, though, Tupai has his sights set on making a difference on the basketball court. He tried out for the team recently and is playing for the first time. Texas Tech and USC have been mentioned as possible visit destinations in the past, so it should be interesting to see which schools get spots on the itinerary.

Click Here to view this Link.