Football: USC, Notre Dame among X's suitors
Here's a name that readers of this blog are going to see repeatedly for the next year or so, and it is an easy one to remember:
Xavier Su'a-Filo.
His friends call him X.
Scouts call him the real deal.
The big junior at Provo's Timpview High was at BYU's indoor practice facility on Monday night watching the Utah teams prepare for the 7 on 7 passing tournament in Las Vegas, so I wandered over to talk to the four-star recruit (Scout.com) who will be one of the most recruited prep football players in the state next fall, along with Cottonwood's John Martinez.
Unfortunately, the tournament on Sunday in Vegas is for so-called skill players only (non-linemen) so Su'a-Filo won't be involved.
He said he was there to watch and support his Timpview teammates -- receiver Travis Van Leeuwen, running back Levi Te'o and safety Chris Badger -- but eventually the conversation turned to him and his recruitment.
"It's crazy," he said. "I've heard from some pretty big schools."
When I asked how many offers he's received and Su'a-Filo said 14, his father, Ifi, mentioned he had received another written offer in the mail that day that the player didn't know about.
"From UNLV," Ifi said.
Forgive the 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle for not being all that impressed.
That's because Su'a-Filo's list of other offers -- all in written form, by the way -- is pretty much the who's who of college football.
LSU, USC, Notre Dame, Miami, Tennessee, Auburn, UCLA, Arizona, Stanford, Washington State, UConn and Oregon State.
Locally, he has offers from BYU, Utah and, of course, UNLV.
Su'a-Filo was on the radar of most programs last fall when he helped lead the Thunderbirds to an undefeated season and the 4A state title. But interest really took off when he shined at the junior combine leading up to the U.S. Army All-America game in San Antonio in January.
There are two other reasons why Su'a-Filo is on everybody's list: 3.2 and 19. That is his grade point average and ACT college admission test score, and the numbers that will get him in to almost any college in America. He said he will re-take the ACT in April in hopes of getting his score in the 20s.
He's also thinking about graduating early, like Cottonwood's Lynn Katoa did, so he can participate in spring ball at his chosen school.
As for the question that everyone is starting to ask, the junior said he never gets tired of hearing it.
"The truth is, I haven't decided yet and I am wide open," he said.
The superstar did acknowledge that he plans on attending camps this summer at USC and LSU, and might go on unofficial visits to Michigan and Notre Dame and possibly Miami and Florida.
Timpview assistant coach Chad Van Orden, who is coaching Team 1 this week, said he has told Su'a-Filo it should be a no-brainer.
"Do you know how many linemen that USC has sent to the NFL?" Van Orden asked rhetorically. "And do you know how easy it is to get to Los Angeles, as opposed to [Baton Rouge]? I would have committed to USC in a heartbeat."
Like another high-profile LDS athlete who recently committed to USC, Uona Kaveinga, Su'a-Filo said he has been assured by USC coach Pete Carroll that he can go on an LDS Church mission if he becomes a Trojan. He also received the same assurance via telephone from Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, he said.
Su'a-Filo said he turns 19 in January of 2010 and would like to play a season before going on his church mission.
