Utah Makes Top 10 For Nation’s Top Athlete Talanoa Hufanga

The top rated athlete in the country Corvallis (Ore.) Crescent Valley four-star Talanoa Hufanga released a top 10 list recently which includes Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington. Utah was actually the first school to offer Hufanga. His older brother T.J. played linebacker at Oregon State for former Oregon State coach and current Nebraska coach Mike Riley. His cousin is USC freshman defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu.

Here is a video of Hufanga talking with Scout’s Brandon Huffman about his top 10:

He plays quarterback and strong safety in high school. My guess is he would play defense if he came to Utah. In his film, he reminds me a lot of current Utah safety Chase Hansen. He is very physical and can play in the box, yet he has the coverage skills to also play deep. He is 6’1” 195 with a 4.6 40-yard dash.

Further, landing Hufanga, the top player in the state of Oregon in 2018, could help land another four-star recruit from the Beaver State, Medford (Ore.) South Medford wide receiver Chase Cota per the Oregonian’s Andrew Nemec. Both players were invited to The Opening, which finishes today in Beaverton, Ore. Utah has offered the top two players in Oregon in this class a scholarship in Hufanga and Cota.