WESTWOOD—The UCLA Bruins Football organization has received a verbal commitment from offensive linesman Tolaefola Sean Auwae.
Auwae originally announced his decision via his Twitter account, where he posted a video which showed Auwae, accompanied by the rest of his football teammates, declaring himself UCLA-bound and donning a Bruins cap.
Described as tough and physical, the Hawaii native is currently entering his senior year at Kapolei High School and set to attend UCLA next fall.
At 6 foot and 4 inches tall and weighing 285 pounds, Auwea is one of the top-ranked and recently, most sought-after linesmen in the country. He currently sits on a No. 2 ranking in the West by Scout.com and often ranked in the top 5 in the country.
Following an impressive performance at the opening regional camp in Los Angeles where he was named Offensive Line MVP, Auwea drew scholarship offers from several big-name schools including Louisville, Oregon State, and Vanderbilt.
Before receiving a scholarship offer from UCLA, Auwae expressed his willing and eagerness to attend. A significant reason for his choosing the school over others had to do with his close relationship with fellow Hawaiian native Fred Ulu-Perry.
Ulu-Perry, currently playing in his freshman season with the Bruins, reportedly communicates regularly with Auwae and helped convince Auwae of taking his talents to UCLA, according to Bruin Report Online.
Auwae visited UCLA back in March while in Los Angeles for the camp. He has yet to pay his official touring visit to UCLA. Auwae plans to tour other schools like Texas Tech and Utah.
The Bruins organization lost top recruit Cordell Broadus, the son of rapper Snoop Dogg, a four-star wide receiver who quit the team. Broadus is currently in his freshman year and has indicated that he will remain a student at UCLA to pursue film studies.
