Texas one of a few schools standing out for LB Liona Lefau after recent OV
Four-star linebacker Liona Lefau has completed two official visits, with a third on the books for Oregon later this month. After previously visiting Utah in early June, last weekend it was the Texas Longhorns’ chance to impress the Kahuku (HI) product and Texas did just that.
“I loved it. Me and my parents enjoyed it,” Lefau said. “I really enjoyed what they had to offer, talking about the full package deal of football, education, mental health, taking care of the body and all of the good stuff. And also your social life, how they have a lot of things to do in Austin.”
The city of Austin does a lot to sell itself, as does UT’s facilities, history and academic reputation. The unique pitch of caring for the UT athletes’ mental health was something that caught Lefau’s attention.
“That’s kind of jumped out at us. Not too many people, they don’t emphasize it as much,” Lefau said. “But it was a big thing to the coaches because they know, especially in college, everyone going to be homesick and still be going through stuff. They try to keep all their players accounted for and taken care of.”
Up next, Lefau will take his official visit to Oregon on June 24. An official visit to Hawaii is also a possibility, and a decision could be coming soon.
“Those are kind of my top three right now,” Lefau said of Texas, Utah and Oregon. “I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the next two. I might save one, might use one to go see the home school.
“I’m thinking of deciding sometime soon, either this month or next month.”
At this point, Lefau said he’d have a hard time picking from the two schools he’s visited, and he expects Oregon will give him a lot to think about on that visit as well.
“I kind of like the two schools I’ve visited right now. They have diff things to offer, but it comes down to what I really want to do in the long run,” Lefau said.
The 6-0, 211-pound Lefau has more than 25 scholarship offers. The Texas staff stressed to him that he’d have an opportunity to see the field early should he choose Texas, another factor that caught Lefau’s attention.
“They said they liked the way I played. I’m a little undersized right now, but they want to keep me in the middle and they also said they like how I might get a shot to be on the big stage early, as soon as my freshman year if I’m ready and if I’m showing good flashes,” Lefau said. “They said I have a shot of potentially making an early impact.”