An Asiata will be playing college football again and soon, only at BYU not Utah.
Ephraim Asiata, son of former Utah Ute/Minnesota Vikings running back Matt Asiata, announced Tuesday night that he has committed to the BYU Cougars.
Asiata, considered the 15th-best high school prospect in Utah for 2024, chose the Cougars over offers from Utah, USC, Tennessee, Wisconsin and San Diego State, per 247 Sports.
As a senior at Herriman High School this fall, Asiata tied for the second-most tackles on the Mustangs with 53 total, including 21 tackles for loss. His nine sacks were far and away a team-best and his efforts earned him 6A second-team all-state honors.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Asiata “flashed tremendous potential,” 247 Sports’ Blair Angulo writes. “(He) was a tackling machine, applying constant pressure in the backfield from a pass-rush position and chasing down ball carriers in the flats.”
Asiata playing college football could be considered something of a miracle.
Nearly two years ago, a 15-year-old Asiata and his close friends Paul Tahi and Tivani Lopati were shot outside of Hunter High School in West Valley City, “when a dispute between two groups escalated into an altercation and ultimately, a shooting,” ABC News reported.
Tahi and Lopati both were killed, while Asiata was rushed to the emergency room and given a 1% chance to survive by doctors, per Vikings.com.
The hollow tip bullet that struck Asiata hit him on his right side, between his ribs, and exploded upon impact, sending fragments throughout his body. Surgeons spent seven hours trying to remove every piece.
Every major organ was impacted, and Asiata received a full small intestine transplant, as well as a liver and pancreas transplant. Nearly a month after the shooting and subsequent surgery Asiata returned home and though his recovery prevented him from playing at all in 2022, his breakout 2023 season has given him the chance to have a college football career.