PROVO — Manase Tonga is BYU's biggest running back, best protector, lead blocker and a more-than-capable receiver. Once upon a time he signed to play at Utah, paying his own way to attend school there, but will wear a BYU uniform on Saturday in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Tonga calls switching colors just a matter of business, nothing personal. He was once a Ute, became an orphan, and now he has found a home, and it's nobody's fault, nobody to blame — it's just the way it is.
Ron McBride signed Tonga out of Aragon High in San Mateo, Calif., but Tonga paid his own way for fall semester before going on an LDS mission to Honduras. Tonga, a power runner, was in the mold of a Brandon Warfield, a smaller Quinton Ganther.
Since his senior year at Aragon, coaches at both BYU and Utah have been in position to recruit Tonga. The list includes McBride and assistants Steve Kaufusi and Alex Gerke; former Utah coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and recruiting coordinator Barry Gonzalez; former BYU head coach Gary Crowton and his recruiting coordinator, Mike Empey; current BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and his recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell; Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and recruiting coordinator Dave Schramm; Ute assistant Kalani Sitake and BYU assistants Kaufusi, Cougar running back coach Lance Reynolds and Brandon Doman.
It was BYU assistant Brandon Doman who ultimately closed the deal.
For the record, Tonga being at BYU is not the failure of Utah's Sitake to do his job, according to the Tongan sophomore.
"It was just a matter of timing. My brother (Matangi) was recruited by BYU while I was on my mission, and things just came together for me at the right time," Manase said.
Steve Kaufusi remembers visiting the Tonga home as a Ute assistant back in 2001-02 when U. assistant Alex Gerke actually finished signing him. "It was a matter of him being a mission guy and Utah didn't have a scholarship for him out of high school. He came, paid his own way, and then left on a mission," Kaufusi said.
When Kaufusi got a job at BYU, he told then-head coach Gary Crowton about Tonga, that he was on a mission, and asked if the Cougars were looking for a running back. Kaufusi had heard from Aragon's football coach that Elder Tonga didn't know his football status and might be looking for a change after paying his way at Utah for one year.
Word got to Tonga that Utah may not have a scholarship waiting for him until the following December after he returned from missionary work the winter of 2005. Crowton left BYU before following through but was interested in his brother Matangi, a defensive lineman.
At BYU in 2005, Kaufusi was assigned to recruit other areas, and the San Mateo area near San Francisco went to Doman, a former 49er quarterback, whom Mendenhall had just hired. Doman saw the possibilities of a two-player deal with Manase, who had his jersey retired at Aragon High, and Matangi, one of the top defensive linemen in northern California.
"NCAA rules used to allow schools to contact missionaries after 18 months, but now the rule is 12 months. I don't know how big of a deal it is, it's probably a bigger deal for missionaries who go out from other schools and want to come back to BYU. But Mendenhall is adamant about not interfering with a missionary doing his work in the field," Doman said.
"I had heard about Matangi, " Doman said. "I contacted his coach and in the conversation he told me Matangi had a brother on a mission who gray shirted (paid his own way) at Utah. "He told me frankly, he wasn't sure Manase was going back to Utah. I asked him to send me some film on Manase."
BYU got Manase's high school film, showing highlights as a linebacker and running back who ran a 4.45 time in the forty. He gained 1,886 yards and 25 touchdowns his senior year. "When we saw it, we absolutely were interested in him. We saw the kind of player he was, either at linebacker or running back. He always teases me that it was a 'get me so you can get my little brother' thing."
Manase, who set an Aragon rushing record with 365 yards in one game, remembers back in 2005 in the final weeks of his mission, checking his e-mail on his preparation day. There were messages from every BYU football coach. Then he opened up a letter from Mendenhall, offering him a scholarship. Upon his return home, he made a recruiting trip to BYU. It was the first time he saw the campus. He committed to sign on that trip.
Tonga saw immediate playing time in BYU's backfield in 2005 as a lead blocker for Curtis Brown.
This season, Tonga has 18 catches for 170 yards and one touchdown while he's carried the ball 38 times for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He averages a solid 4.6 yards per carry. At 240 pounds, he is a key pass and run blocker and unselfishly trades touches with Brown and Fui Vakapuna.
Because Tonga hadn't received a scholarship from Utah, he did not have to lose a year of eligibility for transferring within the Mountain West Conference.
"Oh, my gosh, that was quite the get for us," Doman said. "We were really lucky. We thought he was a real player, but we didn't realize at the time, and now look at what he's developed into. We are lucky to have him."
Tonga says his high school coach kept him up to date while he was in Honduras. "When I left Utah, they told me everything would be fine when I got back. Then there was a coaching change. My coach told me during my mission Utah would have a scholarship for me, but it would be a mid-year, in December of 2005."
Once BYU got involved, made an offer and he accepted, Utah came at him. "They said they didn't know what had happened but promised me they would have a scholarship in the fall. (Ute assistant) Kalani (Sitake) took it pretty hard because all the blame went on him, but he had nothing to be blamed for, it was all a matter of timing. Plus a chance to come to BYU and play with my younger brother."
This year is the only time in his life Manase will play with Matangi. He never did in high school and never will again, since Matangi is headed for a mission after this season. "I've never practiced with him or played any sports with him. This means a lot to me and we're having a blast. We will have championship rings on our fingers and we will go to a bowl game, maybe even share the same room. It is a chance of a lifetime. I'm just counting the days," Manase said.
The strange case, the awkwardness, the timing, his recruitment and all the potential of so many coaches to be involved makes the Tonga story of being a Ute and a Cougar all the more intriguing. What are the odds of Utah not giving Tonga financial aid before his mission and then changing coaches? What are the odds of BYU never recruiting Tonga in high school, then getting him through their own coaching change — plus landing his brother?
Initial credit should go to McBride for evaluating, recognizing and signing the Bay Area star—something the Cougars failed to do.
This week, Tonga is a key cog in BYU's championship team. "Lance Reynolds will tell you, he's probably our most steady back," Doman said. "He is our most complete running back. As far as assignments, blocking, running, the pass game, protection, he is the most sound, which is awesome, it makes him valuable. When we need something, we put him in the game. In all crucial situations, you'll see us put him on the field."
The Tonga change-over saga is finished as far as he's concerned.
"It's all a business," Manase says. "That's why I'm just thankful every day BYU stepped in and picked me up and revived me because I was kind of down. Every time Utah comes up, I'm over it. I'm just focusing on my career at BYU.
"I can't ask for a better deal. This is where I need to be, where I should have been in the first place. I'm happy the way things have worked out."
Manase Tonga
Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore
Height: 5-11 Weight: 235
Hometown: San Mateo, Calif.
2006 season: Listed as Cougars' starting fullback ... Younger brother Matangi is a freshman defensive lineman ... Averages 4.6 yards per carry and has three rushing TDs and one receiving TD.
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com