JT Tuimoloau, 5* 2021 DL, Bellevue (Eastside Catholic), WA (Offered 9/22/17)
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Just because he has the ball doesn’t mean he has possession - Pac refs.RaceBannon said:
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2 top 10 players from Washington going to Oklahoma would be random and unprecedented. Not saying it cant happen but I think it’s incredibly unlikely.TommySQC said:
Because?WilburHooksHands said:
they arent going to Oklahomabananasnblondes said:
I dont like thatinsinceredawg said:Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau continues to go through his main seven schools in his recruitment.
Tuimoloau has focused on seven schools in his football recruitment- Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC and Washington, while the Huskies have also offered him for basketball.
With the WIAA's announcement this week that the 2020 football season would be pushed back to March of 2021, and basketball would be in January and February of 2021, Tuimoloau was just happy something is set for his senior year.
"I didn't think football would be moved back that far, but at the same time, that will be the last sports season for me in high school," said Tuimoloau. "Looking on the bright side, this will be the first time to go from hoops to football so I should be fresher when it comes to the state playoffs."
Tuimoloau had never planned to decide or sign in December- he was always planning to play his senior year in both sports then sign in February. So there wasn't much hesitation from him when the schedule moved.
All it is doing is having him think about how to balance visits this fall, if they're even permitted, and into the new calendar year.
He also had to deal with rumors that showed up on the internet a week ago that he was moving to Texas.
"I don't know what was funnier- the rumors that I was moving to Texas or that people actually believed them," said Tuimoloau.
Which is good news for Eastside Catholic, who will aim for their third straight 3A state football title in the spring while trying to break through in the 3A state basketball playoffs- they've lost three straight years in the semifinals.
Tuimoloau said the seasons being set is allowing him to focus on training in the offseason and spend more time on recruiting.
"Right now, I'm 6-5 and my weight is going up and down between 275 and 280," said Tuimoloau. "I've been training up at FSP with (former Seahawk) Cliff Avril and with Andrew Mapp (FSP's Director of Speed) while also working on classes for college. So I'm staying busy and on top of my game. I've learned a lot from Cliff. We use similar moves. One of my main moves is the long arm, so he talks with me on how to use my moves and when to use him and how he used his moves and I get some pointers on everything."
Recruiting, though, has picked up for the No. 1 prospect in the country per 247Sports.
"It's still the same seven for me," said Tuimoloau. "Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, USC, still the same seven schools."
Tuimoloau said he's deciding whether or not he'll trim that list any more of just keep working from that seven.
"We've kind of talked about it a little, which schools we like more than others," said Tuimoloau. "I don't know if we'll drop a top list. I know right now, we're just hoping to take a visit somewhere."
Tuimoloau has done virtual tours with five of the seven schools, and is expected to do two more soon.
"So far, I've done a virtual tour with Oregon, Washington, USC, Alabama and Oklahoma and then I'm still going to do one with Michigan and Ohio State," said Tuimoloau.
Tuimoloau said there has been some talk with Emeka Egbuka and Caleb Williams about getting out to Norman next month to visit Oklahoma.
"Emeka and Caleb said I should go out there with them when they go out," said Tuimoloau. "That's something that I have to talk to my parents about, but we're just looking to get some visits in and talking to some coaches about what we could do on those kinds of visits. When I had a Zoom call with coach (Lincoln) Riley, he was talking to us about schedules and the uncertainty of the NCAA visits."
Tuimoloau said he knows he wants to get out to Oklahoma since he's not been there, and he's also wanting to get to the two Big Ten schools on his list, Michigan and Ohio State.
"I've been to Alabama, Oregon, Washington and USC," said Tuimoloau. "So our biggest hope is to get to Ohio State, Oklahoma and Michigan at some point for those visits."
Tuimoloau said that no school has really separated from the others in terms of who is recruiting him the hardest.
"I couldn't even say," said Tuimoloau. "They're pretty much all recruiting me hard right now."
Tuimoloau said that the biggest issue he's been facing is the lack of clarity of when he can take visits and what the signing period will look like, but since he planned to wait until February to sign, it really hasn't messed with his timeline all that much.
"It's obviously hard to visits those schools without going through everything real quick and you can't really do anything or see anything without the coaches, so I want to be able to take all of my official visits and try to go through everything and get as much information as I can."
And while February's traditional signing period starts the first Wednesday of the month, there is typically a two-month window recruits are able to sign.
So if things continue to be in flux, and with his basketball and football seasons pushing back, there could be more time taken before a decision.
"There is a good chance it could go late in to the spring of 2021," said Tuimoloau.
In the meantime, Tuimoloau is working on what he can control- his own training and preparation.
"Recruiting wise, my family and talk about my top schools that we want to visit, so at least we’d have a better feel for what we’re going to do," said Tuimoloau. "But the main thing is staying in shape and being ready for my senior year. It hasn’t been as tough as I thought it be. I mean, it’s hard mentally, training for a season that you never knew when it would be and I never thought it would be like this. But now I can just keep working towards being the best I can be."
A five-star in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, Tuimoloau ranks as the No. 2 prospect nationally in the composite while ranking as the No. 1 prospect in the country by 247Sports.
A lot of great kids end up there. I'm curious why you think that? -
they play defense at oklahoma?
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My favorite play against Oklahoma was when a couple of our OL blew out one of their DL's knees on purpose after some cheap shot. Might've been the Owen team.RaceBannon said: -
It was. Happened right in front of us. Best thing White-Frisbee and Garcia ever did for the progrumBleachedAnusDawg said:
My favorite play against Oklahoma was when a couple of our OL blew out one of their DL's knees on purpose after some cheap shot. Might've been the Owen team.RaceBannon said: -
Grainger?joeEDangerously said:
It was. Happened right in front of us. Best thing White-Frisbee and Garcia ever did for the progrumBleachedAnusDawg said:
My favorite play against Oklahoma was when a couple of our OL blew out one of their DL's knees on purpose after some cheap shot. Might've been the Owen team.RaceBannon said: -
Yep, DeMarcus Granger. I think the OL doing that also led to Lockner getting blown up on that play but gotta respect cheap shot for a cheap shot. Now UW guys would just let themselves get cheap shotted over and over again and hope they get a flag that never comes. Remember in 2003 when Khalif Barnes got booted after chasing Keith Lewis from Oregon down the field after stomping them and the past couple of years they've just let Oregon shit on them and not gotten pissed? I'd almost take a chippy team that goes 8-5 over a non-chippy team that goes...wait...8-5.TommySQC said:
Grainger?joeEDangerously said:
It was. Happened right in front of us. Best thing White-Frisbee and Garcia ever did for the progrumBleachedAnusDawg said:
My favorite play against Oklahoma was when a couple of our OL blew out one of their DL's knees on purpose after some cheap shot. Might've been the Owen team.RaceBannon said: -
More not good intel
