Tausili Akana details a decision that truly went down to the wire
Tausili Akana was a man of few words during his recruitment, choosing to stay away from media interviews so as to not tip his hand on which schools had the inside track. Throughout the recruiting process, there was buzz around a few different programs on Akana’s list, but the Lehi (UT) Skyridge product kept a very tight circle of trust. In fact, when Akana announced his commitment for the Texas Longhorns on the first day of the early signing period, he hadn’t even told the Texas coaches of his decision.
“I kind of wanted to just keep it between me and my family, surprise everyone. I didn't (tell the coaches). Nobody knew until I announced,” Akana said.
His final decision came down to Texas, Oklahoma, LSU and Texas A&M. He and his family deliberated the night before Akana signed before settling on the Longhorns over the Sooners.
“Not even the people that were at my video (knew of his decision). Just my parents and my sister knew. That's it,” Akana said. “We sat down, probably around 10 o’clock that night before. We spoke for a good two hours, just thinking about the four schools and thinking about school and football. It just came down to the wire.”
When Akana announced his decision on a live online broadcast, it understandably sent the Texas coaching staff into a state of frenzy.
“They were very excited. They were very shocked,” Akana said. “Sark was in a press conference meeting. He got the phone call, he stepped out and called me right away and he was just happy, had a big smile on his face. Coach PK (Pete Kwiatkowski) called me right after too and was just excited.”
While it was a close race all the way to the finish, Akana said it was a variety of elements that led him to choose Texas. The main factors in his decision were UT’s defensive scheme, the opportunities UT can present away from the field and some advice from his sister, who plays on the Longhorns’ volleyball team that recently won a national title.
“It was definitely the position they’ll have me playing, like a JACK. I’ll be playing on the line but playing but also playing in space and going to get the QB,” Akana said. “I also have my sister there. I didn't really care if she was there or not, but that's another bonus.
“She mainly told me don't come for me. She said just come for yourself. But she also said if you weren't coming to Texas for football, then would you come? I thought about that. The school is great over there. They have good opportunities. So that's another big reason why I went.”
Akana, who wants to study sports management at Texas, also cited a strong relationship with Steve Sarkisian and Kwiatkowski as a factor in Texas winning out.
“They're very good with me, especially good with the family. And they're just very relatable,” Akana said. “They’re bringing in good culture, especially with this new class coming in.”
At 6-4 and about 210 pounds, Akana said he’ll spend the offseason working on getting bigger and stronger before enrolling at Texas in the summer. The Texas coaches have told him they’d like to see him carry 235-240 pounds in time.