Gino Quinones and Ben Scott didn’t have a single FBS offer when both signing periods came and went as juniors.
Then on April 16, Hawaii offered both of them. After big summers and stellar senior seasons, each signed pledges to Pac-12 schools on Wednesday at Saint Louis’ campus.
Scott, who verbally committed to Arizona State in August, made it official after signing his letter of intent. Quinones signed with Southern California, his dream school, after committing in May.
“It’s super stressful. It’s been fun but I’ve lost so many nights of sleep with zero offers,” Quinones said. “Once I got this offer, it was a dream come true, especially coming from my dream school. It’s been stressful but kind of a relief at the same time.”
Quinones also received offers from Utah State, Fresno State and Arizona, but shut it down when the Trojans came calling. He hasn’t looked back since. Rather, he’s getting a head start on college life by enrolling early.
“I’m just super excited. I just can’t wait to get up there with my early enrollment,” Quinones said. “Just super excited that it’s official and everything’s coming to a reality now.
“Other schools tried to come but once I got (offered by) my dream school, I was good, I was satisfied.”
Talent was never the issue for Scott (https://247sports.com/Player/Ben-Scott-46042969/) nor Quinones (https://247sports.com/player/gino-quinones-46051835/). Both have prototypical size and technique for their respective positions. Once both got more exposure during the summer circuit, the offers stared to roll in. For Scott, he acknowledged he wouldn’t have gotten as many eyeballs on him without the support of his parents.
“My mom and my dad, they both really helped me out with talking to coaches and getting their information, and paying for my camps to go up there and get my name out there,” he said. “It’s been a good process.”
Scott says the allure of playing for a former NFL head coach in Herm Edwards was too appealing to turn down.
After stints with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, Edwards went 7-6 in his first year at the helm in Tempe.
“It’s great. For the next four to five years, I’ll be in Arizona training hard, learning from the great Herm Edwards and all the new coaching staff,” Scott said. “I can’t wait for it. Once I saw that Herm Edwards was at Arizona State and they showed interest in me and came down here, they showed me some love and told me they were interested in me.
“They saw my film and my technique, and I knew from the start that I wanted to be a Sun Devil.”
Scott and Quinones will join fellow Crusader Faatui Tuitele in the Pac-12. With multiple matchups looming amongst each other in the years to come, they’ve each vowed that the battles won’t last beyond the field.
“Looking forward to it,” Quinones said. “It’s gonna feel weird playing against each other but everybody’s gonna come as a family that day even though we’re on different teams.”
“It’s gonna be just like practice,” Scott added. “Coming in and battling against them in games, it’s gonna be fun.”
Tuitele didn’t have to be reminded of the future matchups. He knows the exact date he’ll be going up against Saint Louis teammate Arasi Mose, a Hawaii signee.
“I can’t wait to play my brothers in the Pac-12. It’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be exciting. It’s gonna be like another day in practice,” Tuitele said. “I can’t wait to play Arasi, too, when UH comes up to play us in Seattle on Sept. 14. It’s gonna be fun seeing them on another team but nothing changes between us and I still love all of them.”
Mose offered a similar answer, which leads one to wonder how intense practices can get in the slopes of Kalaepohaku.
“I’m very excited, especially because we fly up to Seattle to play them. It’s gonna be a fun battle. Just like practice,” Mose said. “Just for that day, he’s on the opposite side of the field so we’re gonna have to battle the whole day, and at the end of the day, back to brothers.”
The NFL is a goal, but EDUCATION with a degree, is a must. Best of Luck to all these scholar athletes.