I just spoke with linebacker prospect Andrew Mata'afa, who hails from San Diego. Mata'afa is one of Utah's priority linebacker targets and has narrowed his list down to Utah, Vanderbilt, and Washington State. If that last name sounds familiar, it's because Hercules Mata'afa, who wreaked havoc on Utah's offense last weekend, is Andrew's uncle.
Andrew is fresh off a visit to Vanderbilt, and although he said he enjoyed it, it sounded like the Commodores didn't have everything he was looking for. Mata'afa wants to study kinesiology in college, and Vanderbilt doesn't offer that program. He plans on visiting Washington State in a couple of weeks and will visit Utah before making his final decision.
Mata'afa said that on top of the academic program he's interested in, he needs to get a feel for the atmosphere of a school and how the football team interacts with each other- whether or not they're like a family, so to speak. He also said that a school's ability to provide academic support to its athletes will be very important.
Mata'afa has a great relationship with Justin Ena, who has been recruiting him longer than any other coach. He said that Ena envisions him as a player similar to Kavika Luafatasaga, who will mostly play an outside linebacker position, but that is capable of playing inside from time to time, as well as dropping back in coverage and moving well from sideline to sideline.
I'll have more on Mata'afa soon, in the meantime, here's a link to his profile, complete with some highlights from him. Enjoy!
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/andrew-mataafa-200867
Andrew is fresh off a visit to Vanderbilt, and although he said he enjoyed it, it sounded like the Commodores didn't have everything he was looking for. Mata'afa wants to study kinesiology in college, and Vanderbilt doesn't offer that program. He plans on visiting Washington State in a couple of weeks and will visit Utah before making his final decision.
Mata'afa said that on top of the academic program he's interested in, he needs to get a feel for the atmosphere of a school and how the football team interacts with each other- whether or not they're like a family, so to speak. He also said that a school's ability to provide academic support to its athletes will be very important.
Mata'afa has a great relationship with Justin Ena, who has been recruiting him longer than any other coach. He said that Ena envisions him as a player similar to Kavika Luafatasaga, who will mostly play an outside linebacker position, but that is capable of playing inside from time to time, as well as dropping back in coverage and moving well from sideline to sideline.
I'll have more on Mata'afa soon, in the meantime, here's a link to his profile, complete with some highlights from him. Enjoy!
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/andrew-mataafa-200867
