Three years ago, Pete Carroll, then USC’s head football coach, came to Punahou School to watch linebacker Manti Te‘o when a skinny, 6-foot, 5-inch defensive end also caught his eye.
Told that DeForest Buckner was just a ninth-grader, legend has it Carroll replied, "Then, I’ll be back."
TOP 10 RECRUITS
The Star-Advertiser annual Top 10 list of Hawaii high school football prospects was compiled after consultation with college recruiters.
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Carroll has long since moved on to the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, of course, but plenty of other college coaches have come in his place, bearing scholarship offers, to watch Buckner.
Now, a 6-foot, 7-inch, 230-pound senior, Buckner and his opposite Buffanblu twin tower, 6-foot, 7-inch, 268-pound defensive end Luke Kaumatule, head the Star-Advertiser’s list of top college prospects in the state this year.
College coaches who recruit the state, but are prohibited by NCAA rules from publicly commenting on individual players, say they are the leading prospects in a good year for talent locally. They say 12-15 players will likely earn major college scholarships when national letter of intent day arrives Wednesday.
The ranking of the players was based on input from coaches who have been recruiting the state, as well as Star-Advertiser staff members.
Buckner, who was recruited by most of the Pac-12 schools, has made a verbal commitment to Oregon, and Kaumatule, who was also widely sought, has pledged to Stanford.
Rivals.com, a prominent recruiting service, lists Kaumatule as the No. 1 prospect here, while another, Scout.com, has Buckner.
"They (Buckner and Kaumatule) are very close, but I think they are clearly the top two players in the state," said Adam Gorney, West Coast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.
"You can flip a coin between them," said one college coach. "But you’d love to have both."
Coaches say Kaumatule, who missed much of his senior season with a knee injury, is the more developed of the two, while Buckner, who also played basketball, might have more upside.
"I saw Kaumatule (early in 2011) and thought he was a little more aggressive," Gorney said. "But I loved Buckner’s athleticism and explosiveness."
Overall, Gorney said, "it is a good class, but not as strong a class as Te‘o’s year (2009). I definitely like the defensive ends, though. There’s a lot of depth there."
Wednesday is the first day that prospects can sign binding commitments with their schools.
Coaches also say that the current juniors, who will comprise the 2013 recruiting class, also show considerable promise.
"There are a couple players in that (’13) class who could, legitimately, be among our top 200-250 juniors," Gorney said.
Several have already begun to receive offers from Hawaii and Pac-12 schools.
THE TOP 10 AND MORE
1. DeForest Buckner » Defensive end
» Punahou
» 6-7, 230
» College: Oregon
» Known offers: Oregon, Arizona, California, Colorado, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Washington State
» Notes: Visited Oregon in early December and committed shortly thereafter
» Scouting report: Extremely rangy, good explosion and outstanding timing; often bats down passes using his basketball instincts
2. Luke Kaumatule
» Defensive end
» Punahou
» 6-7, 268
» College: Stanford
» Known Offers: Stanford, Colorado, UCLA, Washington, Arizona, BYU, Hawaii, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah
» Notes: Orally committed to Stanford
» Scouting report: Despite injuries, has good agility and athleticism because of his heavy basketball background. Can he rebound from injuring the same knee twice?
3. Shane Brostek
» Offensive lineman
» Hawaii Prep
» 6-3, 300
» College: Undecided
» Known Offers: Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, Washington, Hawaii
» Notes: Father Bern played for Washington before becoming a first-round pick of the Rams.
» Scouting report: Excellent mechanics and pure, brute force at the point of contact
4. Kory Rasmussen
» Defensive tackle
» Kamehameha
» 6-3, 255
» College: Colorado
» Known Offers: Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, Utah, California
» Notes: Committed to the Buffs in December
» Scouting report: Force in the trenches, capable of playing both DE and DT; athletic but sometimes untested in ILH due to opponents’ strategies
5. Keoni Bush-Loo
» Tight end
» Kamehameha
» 6-4, 240
» College: Arizona
» Known Offers: Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, Washington, California, Boise State, Idaho, Army
» Notes: Teams are also looking at him as a possible OLB; sounds like he’s leaning heavily toward Arizona after his visit recently.
» Scouting report: Phenomenal versatility, tremendously soft hands and great focus in traffic; has deep-threat ability
6. Psalm Wooching
» Athlete
» Kealakehe
» 6-3, 210
» College: Washington
» Known Offers: Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, UCLA, UNLV
» Notes: Originally committed to UCLA, opened up recruiting with coaching change and committed to UW recently when he landed for his official visit.
» Scouting report: Fantastic physical specimen who tore up the BIIF out of Kealakehe’s I formation
7. Kalei Auelua
» Defensive end
» Saint Louis
» 6-2, 240
» College: Washington
» Known Offers: Washington, Boise State, Hawaii, Colorado, Utah, UCLA
» Notes: Committed to UW last summer and made his official visit in early December
» Scouting report: Great motor, Ray Lewis-level intensity, 39 sacks in two seasons; fanatical weight-training regimen in the offseason
8. Steven Lakalaka
» Running back (bottom right)
» Punahou
» 5-10, 200
» College: UCLA
» Known Offers: UCLA
» Notes: Pretty much committed to UCLA the second he was offered last May.
» Scouting report: Shifty feet, soft hands and pure power make him a coveted offensive weapon.
9. Kiha Sai
» Offensive lineman
» Kamehameha
» 6-4, 300
» College: Hawaii
» Known Offers: Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico State, Utah
» Notes: Visited Idaho and New Mexico State recently. Originally committed to Utah as its first recruit of 2012 before switching to Hawaii after Norm Chow’s hiring.
» Scouting report: No question about his pure power and straight-ahead advantage … a mainstay in Kamehameha’s offense … will be tested by taller, explosive defensive ends at the next level.
10. Taylor Taliulu
» Defensive back
» Kamehameha
» 5-11, 171
» College: Washington State
» Known Offers: Washington State
» Notes: Took an unofficial visit to Pullman last summer and committed right after. He said he might play baseball at Wazzu as well.
» Scouting report: Outstanding range, superior instincts and closing speed … a sure tackler in the open field … another football-basketball athlete
Others
Listed by player, position, height, weight, high school, college oral commitment
» Benneton Fonua, S, 6-1, 185, Kahuku, Hawaii
» Kaimi Fairbairn, K, 6-0, 165, Punahou, UCLA
» Ipulasi Eselu, DE, 6-3, 220, Moanalua, Hawaii
» Pasoni Tasini, DE, 6-3, 239, Baldwin, Undecided
» Russell Siavii, LB, 6-2, 170, Leilehua, Idaho
» Matthew Sparks, OL, 6-5, 275, Punahou, Undecided
2013
(Listed alphabetically)
>> Kamalei Correa, DT, Saint Louis
» Reeve Koehler, OL, Saint Louis
» Isaac Savaiinaea, LB, Punahou
» Jeremy Tabuyo, WR, Saint Louis
» Ryan Tuiasoa, LB, Punahou
» Kennedy Tulimasealii, DT, Waianae
» Aofaga Wily, RB, Kahuku
2014
» Canton Kaumatule, DL, Punahou
Compiled by Ferd Lewis, Billy Hull and Paul Honda
