Nate Kia, one of the most highly recruited high school football players in Hawaii this winter, will sign a national letter of intent with the University of Utah, family members told the Deseret News.
Kia, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive lineman, was the Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year last season, totaling 17 sacks. He also was honored as the top defensive player at the Shawn Akina Classic, a two-day tournament that matches Hawaiian teams against teams from the mainland.Kia, who scored 1,200 on his SAT and carries a 3.0 grade point average at Punahou High School, was recruited by Utah, Cal-Berkeley, Hawaii, Stanford, Arizona and Oregon, among others. He also starts at center for the Punahou basketball team.
NCAA rules forbid coaches from commenting on recruits until national letter-of-intent day, which is Feb. 5.
In other recruiting news, Sisi Moleni, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive lineman from Kearns High School, announced Saturday that he also will sign a letter of intent with Utah.
Moleni, who moved to Utah in 1990 from his native New Zealand, has played football for only two years. He was a rugby player in New Zealand.
Moleni missed several games last season because of injuries.
He will be one of two players from New Zealand to sign with the Utes this winter (the other is Houdini Nua).