PROVO — The BYU football program bagged the big one — literally — Wednesday morning.
Cougar coaches didn't have to wait long to find out if it had won the recruiting battle for prized offensive lineman Ofa Mohetau. The 6-foot-3, 320-pounder from Euless, Texas, faxed his national letter-of-intent to BYU at 7:21 Wednesday morning.
And there was much rejoicing within the BYU football office, where most of the coaches had convened before sunrise.
"There were a lot of relieved smiles, a lot of high-fives," said BYU recruiting coordinator Mike Empey. "Everybody's excited about it, particularly coach (Steve) Kaufusi. He did an outstanding job recruiting Ofa. Steve spoke in Tongan to Ofa's mom as the fax was coming off of the machine."
Heading into signing day, the heavily recruited Mohetau had narrowed his choices to BYU, Arizona State, Miami and Texas. He had decided to wait until Wednesday to announce his decision. While it made for several anxious weeks around college campuses in Tempe, Miami and Austin, the coaches in Provo were cautiously optimistic that Mohetau would sign with the Cougars.
"He gave us enough positive feedback that he made us believe there was a strong possibility that he would come here," Empey said.
Mohetau is regarded as one of the prep offensive line prospects in the nation. Rivals.com ranks Mohetau as the third-best prep offensive lineman in the country and the No. 18 prospect overall. Student Sports lists him as the No. 1 high school O-lineman.
Recruiting services have raved about Mohetau's speed — he's reportedly been clocked between 4.75 and 4.9 in the 40-yard-dash — footwork and power. Many observers project him to be a college star, then go on to a successful career in the National Football League.
"This guy's going to be a player for a long, long time," Empey said.
There are postive aspects to Mohetau besides his playing ability, Empey added. "He will really add a lot to our program. He's a good kid, real humble. He's BYU guy. It won't be a stretch for him to fit in here."
Mohetau plans to enroll at BYU this fall, then leave for an LDS mission after the 2003 season, Empey said.
BYU's top recruit last year, quarterback Ben Olson, recently left for a mission. The signings of Olson and Mohetau are "huge" for the program, Empey said.
"This is the second year in a row that we've been able to land the top LDS player out there," he explained. "They are 'national' recruits and we had to beat out the top programs to get them here. The assumption is that just because they're Mormon, we should get them. But these are national recruits and we're going up against bigger programs with a lot to offer. We have to go out and recruit them hard."
Mohetau aside, Cougar coaches are thrilled with the 2003 recruiting class. Because of the influx of missionaries returning to the program this year, BYU was not able to offer as many scholarships as it usually does. However, Empey said, what this class lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality.
"Because of the high-profile aspect of Ofa's name, there's a tendency to overshadow the other guys," Empey said. "But our whole recruiting class is outstanding."
In addition to Mohetau, BYU signed a couple of other talented offensive linemen: Dallas Reynolds from Timpview High and Jason Speredon from Granger High. The Cougars also received letters of intent from linebackers David Nixon (College Station, Tex.) and Matt Ah You (Lone Peak High).
Defensive end Brett Denney (Thornton, Colo.), tight end Dan Van Sweden (Northridge High) and punter/placekicker Mitch Payne (Weber High) also inked with BYU.
Walt Williams, a cornerback who originally signed with BYU a year ago but was not academically eligible to enroll, is also included on the Cougars' list of 2003 signees.
E-MAIL: jeffc@desnews.com