. Courtesy of Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance.
Kapolei’s Sean Auwae listened to his heart, his family, his friends and his head coach when he chose UCLA as the next stop in his football career early Friday morning.
Hawaii Prep World’s Billy Hull gave our readers news of Auwae’s decision that the highly regarded lineman announced on Twitter: here: http://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/football/kapoleis-auwae-headed-to-ucla/
Auwae, who is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior with the Hurricanes, made his final decision Thursday night. He is being recruited as a center, but can play any position on the offensive line. He had 16 other offers from Division I FBS schools.
Earlier in the week, Auwae narrowed his choices to six, but whittled it down to three — UCLA, Louisville and Vanderbilt — as of Thursday morning.
“UCLA was the one that was on my mind,” Auwae said Friday afternoon, about four hours before his Hurricanes (1-0) entertain Kahuku (1-0) in an Oahu Interscholastic Association cross-division matchup. “I love the coaching staff. My mom loves the whole coaching staff. (Head) coach (Jim) Mora is energetic and I like the way he interacts with the players and the way he interacts with me. At the end of the day, I see myself playing for UCLA.”
When Auwae asked for advice from Kapolei head coach Darren Hernandez and from his family, they had UCLA as their No. 1 choice for him.
Fred Ulu-Perry, a freshman with UCLA, a Saint Louis graduate and another player who can play anywhere on the line, is Auwae’s good friend.
“My friend Fred up there told me it’s the real deal and that they may have a shot (in the national picture) in the next couple years. I want to be part of that.”
Auwae’s brother, Viliamu Auwae, is a freshman lineman at Utah State and a 2015 Kapolei graduate.
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