Will Latu, 2021 3* LB, Spanaway (Bethel), WA (Committed)

Doing some early TBSing here. 2021 is "lit" in @CokeGreaterThanPepsi parlance.

Jesus Christ this kid is good. This is what Shaq Thompson looked like a frosh. Beautiful.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

DoogCourics

Huffman:

There was loud buzz that Latu was headed to Utah after that top two was named and I put my Crystal Ball on the Utes.

But over the weekend, I've changed my Crystal Ball to the hometown Huskies, where I actually had the Crystal Ball until late May.

Latu has landed a slew of offers and had this to say about each of his two finalists.

Washington: “Obviously this is the hometown school but Washington has always been a place for me and my family. From moving here when I was 5-6 to making it to each level. The fan base over there is crazy and they are showing a lot of love.”

Utah: “Utah has been one of my favorites. I have a lot of family over there and I love Salt Lake City. I cannot wait to take my visit over there.”

I've also set the confidence level at an eight.

RoadDawg55

Also anyone who thinks you don;t take this kid, with as shitty as we have been at crootin' lately, is a fucking imbecile and can show themselves out of the truck stop. It's not like we have a murders row of 5 stars lined up to take his place. Looks like a gamer to me. At least he won't sit out the Kraft Cheeseball Bowl to protect his draft stock.

He sucks. Struggling in recruiting has nothing to do with that. You don’t take bodies just to take bodies. You evaluate and find a better player.

DoogCourics

Huffman:

There was loud buzz that Latu was headed to Utah after that top two was named and I put my Crystal Ball on the Utes.

But over the weekend, I've changed my Crystal Ball to the hometown Huskies, where I actually had the Crystal Ball until late May.

Latu has landed a slew of offers and had this to say about each of his two finalists.

Washington: “Obviously this is the hometown school but Washington has always been a place for me and my family. From moving here when I was 5-6 to making it to each level. The fan base over there is crazy and they are showing a lot of love.”

Utah: “Utah has been one of my favorites. I have a lot of family over there and I love Salt Lake City. I cannot wait to take my visit over there.”

I've also set the confidence level at an eight.

Utah Mod:

It sounds like there's been a bit of change here. According to a knowledgable source, Utah has informed Latu that they do not have space in the class for his commitment. It also sounds like the only school willing to take him right now is UW, so I will be changing my crystal ball here shortly.

Huffman:

Can confirm. Changed mine just a bit ago. To follow up, part of it is there is a lot of uncertainty what position Latu ends up playing in college. Each year, he's added weight (And not necessarily good weight) and outgrown a position. Started as a safety, then was a running back, then an outside linebacker, but he may ultimately end up with his hand on the ground.

Utah Mod:

One thing needs to be made clear, there are red flags with Latu... Huffman highlighted one of the concerns with him, and that's his weight/size. He's grown quite a bit since getting to high school and it sounds like there is a bit of uneasiness on Utah's end in taking a commitment from a player at a position of need that may outgrow the position. When you desperately need depth at a position, you have to take players you evaluate and TRUST will be able to play the position. I've also heard there are academic concerns, I think he's in better shape than his older brother Peter Latu, but there is worry.

So why recruit him, if you weren't going to take him? Let's back it up here..... Typically, staffs will get together and talk about targets, there is some debate about prospects but usually a majority vote is required for certain prospects to be recruited. Once that's in place, coaches go to work and begin to recruit the hell out of them. As things progress and get closer to a commitment, staffs will usually convene again and staffs will vote whether or not his commitment is one that they'd actually take. I'm not saying that this is how Utah goes about it or how they handled this specific situation, but I just wanted to provide an idea of what happens behind close doors in football programs and why sometimes things can change so drastically like in this situation.

To add to this, I've heard things recently that make me think Utah has a lot of confidence in landing other players, and to be quite honest, it wouldn't surprise me if guys have more or less confirmed there spot with Utah privately - a la Alex Harrison last year.

HoustonHusky

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.

bananasnblondes

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.

You think he'll be better?

Huffman has been pissy with UW fans for the last few months but I've never seen him publicly shit talk a recruit more than this guy. His take on dawgman is essentially
-he sucks
-if he had any other commitable offers he'd be heading elsewhere
-UW is in a position where they have to take him because their recruiting is going so poorly

Wonderful

backthepack

Utah would kill to have someone like Latu, he’s better than all of their LB commits. Seems like a bullshit narrative by the staff. It’s definitely because they have racist fucking coaching staff that got exposed

backthepack

Also anyone who thinks you don;t take this kid, with as shitty as we have been at crootin' lately, is a fucking imbecile and can show themselves out of the truck stop. It's not like we have a murders row of 5 stars lined up to take his place. Looks like a gamer to me. At least he won't sit out the Kraft Cheeseball Bowl to protect his draft stock.
He sucks. Struggling in recruiting has nothing to do with that. You don’t take bodies just to take bodies. You evaluate and find a better player.

Go back and watch the sophomore tape. He just needs to keep the weight in check.

He’ll be a stud once he gets his body right again. I agree his JR tape wasn’t the best. You take because he’ll help a lot with the other FSP kids.

RoadDawg55

Also anyone who thinks you don;t take this kid, with as shitty as we have been at crootin' lately, is a fucking imbecile and can show themselves out of the truck stop. It's not like we have a murders row of 5 stars lined up to take his place. Looks like a gamer to me. At least he won't sit out the Kraft Cheeseball Bowl to protect his draft stock.
He sucks. Struggling in recruiting has nothing to do with that. You don’t take bodies just to take bodies. You evaluate and find a better player.
Go back and watch the sophomore tape. He just needs to keep the weight in check.

He’ll be a stud once he gets his body right again. I agree his JR tape wasn’t the best. You take because he’ll help a lot with the other FSP kids.

Sophomore and getting worse are my least favorite recruits. Same with guys that’s get dropped by every other school. There is a reason for it.

The FSP point is fair, but often overblown.

backthepack

Also anyone who thinks you don;t take this kid, with as shitty as we have been at crootin' lately, is a fucking imbecile and can show themselves out of the truck stop. It's not like we have a murders row of 5 stars lined up to take his place. Looks like a gamer to me. At least he won't sit out the Kraft Cheeseball Bowl to protect his draft stock.
He sucks. Struggling in recruiting has nothing to do with that. You don’t take bodies just to take bodies. You evaluate and find a better player.
Go back and watch the sophomore tape. He just needs to keep the weight in check.

He’ll be a stud once he gets his body right again. I agree his JR tape wasn’t the best. You take because he’ll help a lot with the other FSP kids.
Sophomore and getting worse are my least favorite recruits. Same with guys that’s get dropped by every other school. There is a reason for it.

The FSP point is fair, but often overblown.

Sure, I would usually agree because that means the kids are usually maxed out. Latu’s still a baby. He put on bad weight. He’s the rare type of kid that could legitimately be good once he gets into shape.

Also agree on the FSP point but we need whatever momentum we can create until kids are allowed to visit.

HoustonHusky

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.
You think he'll be better?

Huffman has been pissy with UW fans for the last few months but I've never seen him publicly shit talk a recruit more than this guy. His take on dawgman is essentially
-he sucks
-if he had any other commitable offers he'd be heading elsewhere
-UW is in a position where they have to take him because their recruiting is going so poorly

Wonderful

I’m no expert, but the dude was one of the only true players that liked contact and beat down people from the one game against Kennedy that I saw. Better than his brother. He’s the same size/slightly taller than Bowman at this point, and if he was playing safety as a freshman/sophomore than he’s faster and more agile.

Dude seems to loves UW so think he’s going to put in the work when he gets here, and I don’t think he will have a problem getting to 250-260 of good weight and playing our OLB/DE.

backthepack

Bowman sucks. Please don’t compare either Will or Pete to Bowman. Thx.

Emoterman

Huffman:

There was loud buzz that Latu was headed to Utah after that top two was named and I put my Crystal Ball on the Utes.

But over the weekend, I've changed my Crystal Ball to the hometown Huskies, where I actually had the Crystal Ball until late May.

Latu has landed a slew of offers and had this to say about each of his two finalists.

Washington: “Obviously this is the hometown school but Washington has always been a place for me and my family. From moving here when I was 5-6 to making it to each level. The fan base over there is crazy and they are showing a lot of love.”

Utah: “Utah has been one of my favorites. I have a lot of family over there and I love Salt Lake City. I cannot wait to take my visit over there.”

I've also set the confidence level at an eight.
Huffman:

Can confirm. Changed mine just a bit ago. To follow up, part of it is there is a lot of uncertainty what position Latu ends up playing in college. Each year, he's added weight (And not necessarily good weight) and outgrown a position. Started as a safety, then was a running back, then an outside linebacker, but he may ultimately end up with his hand on the ground.

Vita Vea V2 inbound, confirmed.

DoogWhisperer

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.
You think he'll be better?

Huffman has been pissy with UW fans for the last few months but I've never seen him publicly shit talk a recruit more than this guy. His take on dawgman is essentially
-he sucks
-if he had any other commitable offers he'd be heading elsewhere
-UW is in a position where they have to take him because their recruiting is going so poorly

Wonderful
I’m no expert, but the dude was one of the only true players that liked contact and beat down people from the one game against Kennedy that I saw. Better than his brother. He’s the same size/slightly taller than Bowman at this point, and if he was playing safety as a freshman/sophomore than he’s faster and more agile.

Dude seems to loves UW so think he’s going to put in the work when he gets here, and I don’t think he will have a problem getting to 250-260 of good weight and playing our OLB/DE.

The issue is that Latu is not very tall or athletic so him at 250 or 260 would not be great. In fact, we passed on a better player with similar measurables last class in Jordan Banks. Many of us didn’t like Banks either but he’s definitely a better player.

backthepack

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.
You think he'll be better?

Huffman has been pissy with UW fans for the last few months but I've never seen him publicly shit talk a recruit more than this guy. His take on dawgman is essentially
-he sucks
-if he had any other commitable offers he'd be heading elsewhere
-UW is in a position where they have to take him because their recruiting is going so poorly

Wonderful
I’m no expert, but the dude was one of the only true players that liked contact and beat down people from the one game against Kennedy that I saw. Better than his brother. He’s the same size/slightly taller than Bowman at this point, and if he was playing safety as a freshman/sophomore than he’s faster and more agile.

Dude seems to loves UW so think he’s going to put in the work when he gets here, and I don’t think he will have a problem getting to 250-260 of good weight and playing our OLB/DE.
The issue is that Latu is not very tall or athletic so him at 250 or 260 would not be great. In fact, we passed on a better player with similar measurables last class in Jordan Banks. Many of us didn’t like Banks either but he’s definitely a better player.

He’s very athletic. Go watch the sophomore tape. Junior year he put on bad weight.

greenblood

Not a recruiting guru but still think he ends up being a better Ryan Bowman and I’m good with that. The one game I saw he looked like one of the few true football players it there.
You think he'll be better?

Huffman has been pissy with UW fans for the last few months but I've never seen him publicly shit talk a recruit more than this guy. His take on dawgman is essentially
-he sucks
-if he had any other commitable offers he'd be heading elsewhere
-UW is in a position where they have to take him because their recruiting is going so poorly

Wonderful
I’m no expert, but the dude was one of the only true players that liked contact and beat down people from the one game against Kennedy that I saw. Better than his brother. He’s the same size/slightly taller than Bowman at this point, and if he was playing safety as a freshman/sophomore than he’s faster and more agile.

Dude seems to loves UW so think he’s going to put in the work when he gets here, and I don’t think he will have a problem getting to 250-260 of good weight and playing our OLB/DE.
The issue is that Latu is not very tall or athletic so him at 250 or 260 would not be great. In fact, we passed on a better player with similar measurables last class in Jordan Banks. Many of us didn’t like Banks either but he’s definitely a better player.
He’s very athletic. Go watch the sophomore tape. Junior year he put on bad weight.

Sounds like the kid has a great work ethic

RoadDawg55

If he’s 250 or 260, he’s playing Buck or DL. He was considered a safety/LB prospect just a year ago. He’s a guy without a position that has been dropped by everyone but UW. It’s hard to get excited about that.

RoadDawg55

Bowman sucks. Please don’t compare either Will or Pete to Bowman. Thx.

2nd team Pac 12 last year. He’s been playing or starting since his freshman year. You have a great track record of evaluations, so I’ll take your word that he sucks.

FireCohen

Huffman:

There was loud buzz that Latu was headed to Utah after that top two was named and I put my Crystal Ball on the Utes.

But over the weekend, I've changed my Crystal Ball to the hometown Huskies, where I actually had the Crystal Ball until late May.

Latu has landed a slew of offers and had this to say about each of his two finalists.

Washington: “Obviously this is the hometown school but Washington has always been a place for me and my family. From moving here when I was 5-6 to making it to each level. The fan base over there is crazy and they are showing a lot of love.”

Utah: “Utah has been one of my favorites. I have a lot of family over there and I love Salt Lake City. I cannot wait to take my visit over there.”

I've also set the confidence level at an eight.
Huffman:

Can confirm. Changed mine just a bit ago. To follow up, part of it is there is a lot of uncertainty what position Latu ends up playing in college. Each year, he's added weight (And not necessarily good weight) and outgrown a position. Started as a safety, then was a running back, then an outside linebacker, but he may ultimately end up with his hand on the ground.
Vita Vea V2 inbound, confirmed.

Vita was faster than latu in high school

backthepack

Bowman sucks. Please don’t compare either Will or Pete to Bowman. Thx.
2nd team Pac 12 last year. He’s been playing or starting since his freshman year. You have a great track record of evaluations, so I’ll take your word that he sucks.

Please actually watch him especially against Oregon.

dnc

Latu is incredibly athletic when he’s at a good weight. He’s not been at a good weight lately so his athleticism has naturally dropped.

He’s the kind of kid who is high risk/high reward. He could never get into good shape and be totally worthless or get back into shape and be a stud.

Considering the dumpster fire of UW recruiting I think he’s very worth the risk.

Also gives UW the inside track on Pete if he can make it through JUCO and that guys a total baller.