Four-Star Hawaiian Athlete Feels Valued By Brian Kelly
The addition a couple years back of spring and summer official visits has been very beneficial to prospects in Hawai'i.
It's not easy or cheap to take unofficial visits to the United States Mainland, so having schools pay for travel via official visits is ideal. But even taking those trips during the prospects’ senior season isn’t easy, and if they wait until December, spots may be filled at the school they’d like to attend.
But big time Hawaiian prospects such as Titus Mokiao-Atimalala are now able to take official visits from the beginning of April to the end of June before their senior season. He may stretch his recruitment out well into the fall, but spring official visits opens a new door for him.
“I’m planning my official visit with Notre Dame,” the four-star athlete said. “With Nebraska, I’ll catch one of their games in the fall.”
Notre Dame has a strong history of signing prospects from the Aloha State and most recently signed vyper Jordan Botelho in the 2020 class. Mokiao-Atimalala is also related to Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, a rising senior defensive lineman for the Irish.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and special teams coordinator Brian Polian are leading the charge in Mokiao-Atimalala’s recruitment, and ever since the Irish offered him in December, he has felt valued by the coaching staff.
“The head coach texts me a lot; he checks in,” Mokiao-Atimalala said. “I was just texting him [Friday] and he was saying that I’m a priority to them. Hearing that from the head coach is really good. But we still have a lot of work to do and my senior year to finish. My focus is more on that than these offers.”
Mokiao-Atimalala may only get one chance to see Notre Dame during his recruiting process. He and his family like the private school, high academic stature of Notre Dame, and learning more about it is important.
“I want to make sure it’s a good fit for me and my family,” he said. “My mom and dad will be with me, so I want to make sure they’re comfortable with where I’m at because I’d be there for the next four to five years.”
Mokiao-Atimalala, who could play receiver or safety at the next level, also has offers from the likes of Arizona State, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Utah, Washington State and Wisconsin.
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