Weber State Makes Scholarship Offer to Fangatua

Baldwin football prospect Miki Fangatua is also one of the best discus and shot put throwers in the state. Photo by Rodney S. Yap.

By Rodney S. Yap

Baldwin High School’s Miki Fangatua, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound first-team all-star defensive lineman, received his first college football scholarship offer Friday from Weber State. He is the third Baldwin prospect to receive a Division I scholarship offer since March.

Fangatua caught the eye of the Weber State coaching staff last week at the All Poly Utah Camp. By the camp’s conclusion, Weber was sold on Fangatua’s talents and set on making him an official offer. Unable to speak to Fangatua directly, Weber contacted Baldwin head coach AJ Roloos.

“I still can’t believe that they went and offered me,” Fangatua said. “Thank the heavenly father.”

“When I saw him during track season we talked and he thought he was too short for Division I,” said Roloos. “But I reminded him to believe in himself, anything is possible. When Stutzmann called me, they were impressed with how strong he is. I’m really happy for him, he’s worked hard and it’s only his fourth year playing football so he’s still learning.”

Fangatua also placed sixth in the shot put (50-feet plus) and eighth in the discus (150-feet plus) at the state track and field championships last month and is the top returnee in both events next year.

Weber State football stadium. Photo by Weberhoops.com.

Fangatua joins teammates Jordan Hoiem, a junior-to-be linebacker, and Keelan Ewaliko, the two-time MIL Offensive Player of the Year, as the school’s Division I prospects. Hawaii head coach Norm Chow offered Hoiem in early March and Ewaliko last month following his state championship victory in the 200 meters.

Due to his travels, Fangatua was unable to participate in the 2012 Maui Football Combine held last Friday at Lahainaluna Stadium. Also noticeably absent from the MFC was Lahainaluna junior-to-be Hercules Mataafa.

Mataafa’s busy summer started at the Utah University camp two weeks ago, followed by the All Poly Utah Camp last week. He is currently on Oahu at the All Poly Hawaii Camp with 16 other MIL players and his uncle Chad Kauhaahaa, a coach with the Utes and camp contributor at both the All Poly Utah and Hawaii events.

At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Mataafa wreaked havoc on opposing offensive linemen last year as a sophomore. Physically he has all the tools of a Division I prospect as the country’s leading prep analyst Tom Lemming has Mataafa listed among the state’s top 36 players.

The Luna defensive linemen will get plenty of attention from Kauhaahaa as Hawaii and American Samoa is the coach’s primary recruiting area. Regardless of family ties, Utah has a penchant for recruiting polynesian players, and Kauhaahaa has dominated Maui until Hawaii hired Chow.

Until Chow’s offers to the Baldwin duo, Hawaii did not actively recruit Maui.

Defensive back Abraham Reinhardt is the Bears’ other Division I prospect. University of Nevada Las Vegas is interested in the 5-11, 170-pound Reinhardt, who is a senior-to-be and a big-play maker defensively for the Bears.