Tuiasosopo to UH

Tui Tuiasosopo, the First Team All-State, 6-fooot-1.5, 290-pound offensive lineman from Saint Louis School in Hawai'i, is officially announcing his acceptance of a scholarship offer from the University of Hawai'i after his meeting with new Hawai'i Head Coach Greg McMackin, according to Doris Sullivan of the PIAA.

Tui is the son of Ana Sr. and Lua Tuiasosopo of Ewa Beach. He is the brother of former All-State Offensive Lineman Ana Jr, now at New Mexico State. Tui also played in the HUB Senior Classic Bowl game in December. Tui fielded offers and interest from Stanford, Cal, Oregon and NMSU among others before choosing Hawai'i.

"I felt at home with Coach McMackin, he truly believes in my abilities as a player and even hinted that he could help me and UH could help me go onto the next level which was the NFL," Tui said. "I know at UH Coach McMackin, Coach Cal Lee, Coach (George) Lumpkin and the entire UH coaching staff will take good care of me.

"Coach Cal Lee was the one recruiting me heavily along w/Coach Lumpkin. I was told that I have the highest GPA amongst all of the UH recruits with a 4.2 GPA. My parents are proud. I had a great time on my recruiting trip."

"Coach Cal Lee and Coach Lumpkin have been in constant contact with us over the last few months," Lua and Ana, Sr. added. "The icing on the cake for us was a meeting with Coach McMackin. There is a special spirit about Coach McMackin and we could truly feel the love he has for his players and coaches.

"We knew after meeting with Coach Mac that he would take good care of our son. His belief in Tui in contributing right away took our breath away!

"As parents, you want to make sure that whatever school your son committs too is the right environment and most especially you want to know that coaches will take care of your son. We know at UH, Coach Mac and the entire UH Staff will take care of Tui.

"Now, we get to tailgate every game weekend (when we're not watching Ana's games)!"