Two favorites for two-way standout
Defensive end/tight end Devin Mahina (6-6, 225, 4.7) from Upland, Calif., could be getting close to making a decision now that he has offers from his two top schools.
The thing that has Mahina climbing up the charts is he has athleticism and versatility. Many D-I schools like the idea of bringing in players that have the ability to play more than one position.
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"UCLA made it official today (May 23rd)," Upland assistant coach Mike Esquivel said. "Coach John Wristen called Coach (Tim) Salter to let him know. Coach Wristen said the paperwork would be mailed to the Mahina household immediately."
"UCLA and BYU are his two favorites right now," Esquivel said. "The Bruins and the Cougars have offered him at both tight end and defensive end. Oregon is recruiting Devin as a defensive end."
"The family is thrilled with the UCLA offer because UCLA is so close to home," Esquivel said. "The main issue for Devin is to play close to home so his family can come and see him play."
"It looks good for UCLA," Esquivel said. "Devin would start out with a clean slate. He will first go on his (LDS) mission for two years and then show up afterwards with all of his eligibility."
Mahina was the only underclassman to be selected all-league on both sides of the ball. He was second-team all-league as a tight end, but the first-team guy, Oregon State bound John Reese was on the same team.
That's right Mahina backed up the player who earned first-team honors. What does that tell you about his ability as a tight end.
"On the offensive side of the ball, Devin has great hands as a tight end," Upland coach Tim Salter said. "He does a great job getting open and catching the ball in traffic."
At his tight end position he caught eight passes for 80 yards. He made the all-league team more because of his blocking but, this fall he will see the ball a lot more.
The interesting thing about Mahina is he may have more upside on the defensive side of the ball.
"On the defensive side of the ball Devin could play the three tech or five tech," Salter said. "He is fast enough to contain or we can stand him up and have him drop in coverage."
"Devin is lanky and has long arms but he plays low so with his long arms gets good separation and keeps blockers off him," Salter said. "He is also very tough to pass over because of his frame."
From his defensive end spot Mahina racked up 48 tackles and two sacks.
Besides UCLA and BYU, Mahina has offers from Arizona, Oregon, Washington State and Colorado.