The June itinerary of Tausili Akana is like none other.
It is, for a football devotee, better than Disneyland. Whether they are camps, unofficial visits or both, the former Kamehameha and Wasatch (Utah) student-athlete is on a journey experienced by few, if any, sophomores from Hawaii.
Tuesday, June 1: Hawaii
Thursday, June 3: Texas
Friday, June 4: TCU
Saturday, June 5: Texas A&M
Sunday, June 6: LSU
Tuesday, June 8: Ohio State
Wednesday, June 9: Michigan
Thursday, June 10: Notre Dame
Friday, June 11: Wisconsin
Saturday-Tuesday, June 12-15: Nebraska
Wednesday, June 16: BYU
Thursday, June 17: Utah
Friday, June 25: Oregon
Saturday, June 26: Washington
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior-to-be is on a barnstorming tour of football camps, churning out eye-opening performances along the way. Shortly after receiving a scholarship offer from Mississippi State, his 20th in all, he had an unofficial visit with Hawaii on June 1. Since then, he and father Brandyn Akana have done their version of a Texas triangle with stops at Texas, TCU and Texas A&M.
“At Texas, I did a full camp for them. There were about 200 campers. I also did an unofficial visit and campus tour, and met with coaches,” he said. “At TCU, no workouts. I just did an unofficial visit and met with coaches. They watched my film and that was enough.”
The Texas A&M stop was up close, as well.
“I did a one-on-one workout with the coaching staff. Also did an unofficial visit and met with coaches,” Akana said. The Texas triangle tour netted an offer from each university.
Baton Rouge, La., was large in every way.
“I did a half-day camp with about 800 participants. It was crazy, but fun,” he said. “I feel I did really well at the LSU camp. I made good reads and played physical. I really felt comfortable with the defense.”
That was followed by an unofficial visit, meeting with coaches, including head coach Ed Orgeron.
LSU made it four camps in four days. The Tigers had already offered Akana a scholarship on Apr. 29.
It doesn’t get easier, and it doesn’t get better.
Akana will hit the Midwest with Ohio State on Tuesday, then Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Nebraska in the next week-plus. Whirlwind doesn’t even begin to describe the adventure.
“It’s like working out every day. Some coaches want to do more than others. For the most part, they have all seen my film and highlights. They really want to see my size, length and footwork. Due to my workout schedule, I’m able to do well in these drills,” Akana said.
The Akanas fly to Ohio State next. Columbus, Ohio, is also home to former Kahuku Red Raider Enokk Vimahi and former Saint Louis student Haskell Garrett.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the facilities and meeting the coaches. I have been in contact with the coaches for the last couple months. I’m also looking forward to seeing Enokk and Haskell,” Akana said.
He is currently rated the No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2023 class by 247sports.com.
Since returning from Utah, Akana was enrolled at Kahuku in the spring semester. He was added to the Skyridge (Lehi, Utah) roster on MaxPreps.com on Apr. 20.
Update: Akana is currently enrolled in Utah in case there is no full season in Hawaii, according to his father, Brandyn Akana.
“We’re trying to get all options open for him,” he said.
Tausili Akana, Kamehameha/Wasatch, OLB, 6-4, 225
Offers: 23
Utah 6/20/19
BYU 6/20/19
Hawaii 6/21/19
Arizona State 6/30/20
UNLV 8/27/20
Oregon State 9/8/20
Utah State 9/14/20
Nebraska 10/16/20
Oklahoma State 11/16/20
Oregon 12/21/20
Washington State 12/25/20
Ole Miss 3/3/21
Colorado 3/9/21
USC 3/17/21
Washington 4/23/21
LSU 4/29/21
Wisconsin 4/30/21
Arizona 5/1/21
Cal 5/11/21
Mississippi State 5/27/21
Texas 6/3/21
TCU 6/4/21
Texas A&M 6/5/21
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