Kahuku’s most recent update about star safety…
Manutai, one of the best players in Hawaii who just finished a fantastic junior season assisting Kahuku in winning another championship, has received more offers than half a dozen.
The North Shore native and three-star player has a busy spring and summer ahead of him.
Manutai told 247Sports, “Recruiting has been great, just building relationships with coaches and talking to them about more than just football.” “Things are going well. We’re just FaceTiming and catching up with the coaches.” Oregon, Nebraska and Arizona have been my most frequent contacts.
“Right now, I’m most interested in learning as much as possible about the schools. Many of my teammates at California Power and I have been discussing the process and the importance of committing to a school that wants you there rather than a coaching staff, as those are subject to change. That will play a significant role in my choice. I’m certain that I want to travel to Nebraska, Oregon, and Arizona for official business.
According to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings, the 6-foot, 170-pound Manutai is the nation’s No. 36 rated safety and the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Hawaii for the 2025 class. In his junior season, he was credited with three interceptions.
Manutai is also very interested in Texas, a program that appointed Johnny Nansen as their new defensive coordinator just before spring break.
“A Texas offer would be quite substantial,” Manutai remarked. “I really like the weather, the facilities, and the culture when we visited there during the off-season last year while we were in town for a competition. We went to a store, and there was this lady, who didn’t even know us, asking us to move to Texas. It merely demonstrated the scope of the program. Of course, getting back together with Liona Lefau would be awesome—that’s my captain right there.
In the thrilling victory against Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco last fall, Manutai scored a pick-six. Looking ahead to 2024.
Manutai expressed that it was an enjoyable junior year. “My teammates were great all around and I was glad I was able to experience the big win against a powerhouse like St. John Bosco. We’ve gotten used to winning the state championship so we’re looking for hopefully a national title run next year,” Manutai said.
Adding up to the speculations about Manutai’s possible move to any of the desired teams, Nebraska’s head coach Matt Rhule, Has come out to say:
“We have our guard on him and we would love to see him show his potentials here in Nebraska, once we have the go ahead to strike a deal with his team, then consider it a done deal”.
