The NCAA football recruiting trail is heating up. Several top juniors and upcoming seniors are beginning to get a feel for exactly which Division I colleges are interested in their services. Standing 6'6" and tipping the scales at 340 pounds, it's no mystery that Emerald Faletuipapai has the size to play at the next level. The great thing about Big Em' is that he doesn't solely rely on his size and is eager to improve. "The first week of spring football went by great. I'm looking forward to the upcoming practices as the week progresses," Emerald told CLA.
"Right now, most likely I'm settled with playing at left tackle and I have no problem with it because I'm doing it for the team," he says. Faletuipapai appreciates the move from guard to tackle and says that the move will allow him to gain versatility and improve his footwork and punches. "My offensive line coach (Garen Stephan) has been helping me a lot as we started spring ball and I'm starting to feel more comfortable at any offensive line position," says Emerald.
This week Hawaii came calling and officially offered the Gardena Serra offensive lineman a scholarship. This is Faletuipapai's first official offer, although many Pac-12 schools and beyond have shown interest. "This week Hawaii decided to offer me a scholarship. It really helps me want to work harder and to get to where I want to be. Hawaii is a great school and I wouldn't have problem with going there. The family atmosphere down there is great," he said of the school.
Faletuipapai is looking forward the increased attention from some of the nation's top football programs, but he's also focused on the competition he'll face as a senior at Serra High School. "So far my recruiting process is going well. Colorado is also very close to offering me soon. I'm hoping to stay healthy at 100% because spring ball will get me prepared for summer ball and then we'll be off to our first game in August at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
As a student-athlete at Gardena Serra, Faletuipapai has witnessed several of his fellow teammates go on to make a significant impact for some of the top college football programs in the country. Serra has produced the likes of USC wideouts Robert Woods (WR/2010), Marqise Lee (WR/2011) and George Farmer (WR/2011), Cal Berkeley linebacker Jason Gibson (LB/2011) and many others.
