One of the biggest developmental wins for Utah State football this season was true freshman offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho.
The former Bingham High Miner started every game for the Aggies at guard and was viewed as one of the chief building blocks on a promising offensive line that helped senior running back Calvin Tyler Jr. rush for over 1,000 yards this season.
Lapuaho will fulfill his promising future somewhere other than Logan, however.
First reported by multiple outlets — 247 Sports and Big Blue USU Aggie News — and later confirmed by Lapuaho himself on social media, the Aggies’ standout freshman offensive lineman will transfer from Utah State with three years of eligibility remaining.
OFA ATU LOKANI🖤💯 pic.twitter.com/iWUOUgwKWD
— Weylin Lapuaho (@LapuahoWeylin) December 29, 2022
Rated a three-star recruit coming out of high school in 2022, per 247 Sports’ Composite, the 6-foot-4, 310 Lapuaho chose Utah State over offers from UNLV and New Mexico, and garnered interest from Utah, BYU and TCU as well.
With his departure, Utah State has now lost four starters along its offensive line, including Alfred Edwards (left tackle), Chandler Dolphin (center) and Jacob South (right tackle).
Lapuaho is the first of that group to leave via the transfer portal, as the other three graduated and/or exhausted their eligibility. As of Thursday afternoon, Utah State will return only one full-time starter next season, left guard Wade Meacham.
Lapuaho is the second Utah State starter to enter the transfer portal Thursday, following defensive end Daniel Grzesiak.
Grzesiak — the Aggies’ most productive pass rusher this season — already has multiple Power Five offers from Missouri, West Virginia and Cincinnati.