2007 Recruit Serra HS (Gardena) DL Apiata Tuihalamaka

A short excerpt from an article on Apiata Tuihalamaka of Serra HS (Gardena, CA)

3/14/06
SoCal HS is loaded with talent
Greg Biggins
StudentSportsFootball.com Recruiting Analyst

Tuihalamaka, 6-4, 220 pounds has received early offers from Washington, UNLV and Oregon and is hearing from the same schools as Boyles and Harris.

"The same schools will end up offering all three kids," Altenberg said. "When I talked to Nebraska, Oregon and Arizona State, they told me they're going to offer all three players and Oregon has already offered Apiata and DaJohn. Nebraska will likely be offering all three this week.

"Apiata is just an incredible athlete that you have to see to believe. USC is really high on him and he was at UCLA's Junior Day and they like him too. He's going to USC's Junior Day with Anthony and DaJohn and I'm interested to hear back from Ken Norton on how they liked his film.

"Honestly, Apiata has the athletic ability of a free safety in a defensive ends frame. He's so quick and explosive. He's a lean 220 pounds and he can't put weight on right now because he never slows down. After football, he runs track, competes on the volleyball and plays on a Tongan Rugby team on the side. He also played some running back for us and you should see him the run the ball. His feet are so quick it's like watching a scat back out there."

As a junior, Tuihalamaka totaled 58 tackles and seven sacks on defense while rushing for 508 yards and three touchdowns on offense.