Larry Tuileta broke some bleeding green hearts, but otherwise the University of Hawaii netted a nice senior class on Wednesday morning during the PIAA letter-of-intent signing ceremony at the Sheraton Waikiki.

Tuileta had orally committed in April to play football and volleyball for UH. A change in staff at USC, which brought former assistant coach Steve Sarkisian back from Washington, led to a phone call. Tuileta visited the USC campus recently, and by signing day, he officially changed his mind by penning his signature for the Trojans.

"It came down to deciding between two great programs. I discussed it with my parents. It took a very long time. I was up late until this morning, constantly thinking about the decision," he said. "There’s been a lot of changes (at USC), so he (Sarkisian) gave me an opportunity to get onto the team. He gave me a spot. It’s a chance that I’m going to take."

There was no interest under previous USC head coach Lane Kiffin.

Tuileta talked with Hawaii coach Norm Chow before making his decision.

"I told him there’s another option," said Tuileta, who will play volleyball and have "preferred walk-on" status in football.

UH still landed most of its top prospects. Wide receivers Devan Stubblefield (Saint Louis) and Donald Lambert (Moanalua), tight end Dakota Torres (Punahou), defensive end Ka’aumoana Gifford (Kamehameha), linebacker Dayton Furuta (Mililani), safety Manly "Pumba" Williams (Farrington) and lineman Tavita Eli (Kealakehe) all gave their signatures to Manoa.

Stubblefield could help immediately. He was an All-State pass-catcher who was a deep threat as well as a crisp route-runner. His early commitment to UH stood strong, but he was definitely pursued.

"Other guys tried to get in the door, teams from the Pac-12 and Big 12 as well. But I took my visit this past weekend and that opened my eyes. It’s family, it’s God, God spoke to me. That was one of my main decisions, and Coach Chow allowed (me) to play football and baseball," Stubblefield said. .

He conceded that baseball could offer other options should he have a strong senior season and get drafted. Then he’d possibly play college football and pro baseball. But one thing for sure is that he won’t be catching perfectly thrown spirals from Tuileta.

"Larry’s going to be family no matter what. He was committed to Hawaii first and we accept him. It’s no different now. Wherever he goes, it’s going to be good for him. I was getting excited to play with him, but it is what it is," Stubblefield said.

Furuta wore his white hat with a bold ‘H’ logo proudly.

"The biggest thing for me was to represent my home state, play in front of friends and family. Just make my community proud. I had a couple of chances to go away, but I wanted to stay home," he said.

Gifford expects to play the "3 technique" in Hawaii’s defense. He played defensive end and tight end for Kamehameha.

"It’ll make it easier knowing some of my friends are going there. Coach Chow was my first offer and I committed, so I wanted to be a man of my word," he said. "We picked up a lot of kids from the mainland. We’ll for sure contend next year."