Nation Ford’s Hank Tuipulotu commits to play football at BYU

In the end, Hank Tuipulotu’s college football decision was kind of anti-climactic.

Tuipulotu, a rising senior receiver at Nation Ford, has committed to play college football at Brigham Young University, according to Nation Ford coach Michael Allen. He kept an open mind during the recruiting process, but a visit to the school for a camp over a week ago confirmed Tuipulotu’s long-held belief that the Utah-based school was the spot for him.

“I was ready to go anywhere, but then I went to camp and we got to see the campus and meet the coaches and I fell in love with the place immediately,” he said.

Tuipulotu was one of the top high school football receivers in the country last season production-wise, reeling in 105 catches (in 10 games) for 1,322 yards and 17 touchdowns. Tuipulotu scored touchdowns in nine of the 10 games he played and caught at least six passes in every contest, including five games with 10-plus. He joins a BYU program that is one of the most consistent in the country; the Cougars haven’t had a losing record in over 10 years, finishing in the top-25 five times during that span.

Tuipulotu, a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder, was participating in the regular football prospect camp at BYU when the running backs and tight ends coaches took him aside for private workouts. He impressed and was offered a scholarship before returning home. Tuipulotu and his family mulled over the offer for a week or so, but he made his decision to commit Friday night.

“They live by those standards and by that honor code and that’s exactly how I want to live, so it’s a perfect fit,” he said, referencing BYU’s Mormon-based honor code.

Tuipulotu’s father, Peter, and uncle, Tom, both played football at BYU in the 1980s, part of a long tradition of Polynesian football players at the school. Tuipulotu is a devout follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and plans to take his two-year Mormon mission when he turns 18 years old.

His commitment to the mission made the recruiting process a little bit muddier with the secular schools. Tuipulotu had plenty of other options to consider, with offers from Air Force, Navy, Appalachian State, Furman, and serious interest from UNC and N.C. State as well. The latter two held off on offers because they weren’t sure what their scholarship situation looked like for the 2018 class, when Tuipulotu would return from his mission trip.

“It’s tough for teams that haven’t dealt with it,” said Tuipulotu, who will probably play H-back in college, a cross between a fullback and a slot receiver. “That’s why BYU is such a great choice for me because they deal with this stuff all the time.”

Getting to follow in the footsteps of his father and uncle, and join the proud fraternity of Tongan, Samoan and Hawaiian players at BYU, is a proud moment for the Nation Ford pass-catcher.

“It is pretty cool and hopefully I can do the name proud,” he said.

Tuipulotu’s younger brother, Ben, figures to see substantial playing time on Nation Ford’s varsity team this fall and has a tall frame ready to fill with muscle. An even younger brother, Petey, is also approaching high school age. Tuipulotu brothers seem to show up at BYU in clusters, so the school may want to keep an eye on Nation Ford High School in the coming years.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Nation Ford’s Hank Tuipulotu commits to play football at BYU."