During the last weekend of visits prior to National Letter of Intent day two 5-star recruits visited BYU. Neither of them have more or better offers than 6’3” 255 pound tight end Tyler Luatua (who was also visiting) had two years ago when he chose Notre Dame over Alabama, USC, and just about every other Top 25 program.
Want thank ND and the coaches for giving me the opportunity to play here! Excited to announce that I will transfer to BYU in the Fall! #BYU
— Tyler Luatua© (@Luatua13) February 2, 2016
All Star Weekend #BYU!!! @nanuboy17 @Luatua13 @miquejuarez3 pic.twitter.com/pAeI0ukzxE
— BIGG RAHGEE (@biggrahgee) January 30, 2016
Reports now coming in from South Bend state that that Luatua will indeed be transferring to the BYU Cougars. Luatua played in 20 games for the Fighting Irish in 2014 and 2015, starting four including two bowl games. He has slimmed down from 270 lbs. as a Freshman and has been used primarily on special teams and as a blocking tight end. He could make an immediate impact for the Cougars. Well… semi-immediate. As a transfer student he will satisfy NCAA transfer rules by sitting out the 2016 season, and then have two years to play two starting in 2017.
Luatua prepped at La Mirado High School, where as a freshman he had nine tackles, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. As a sophomore he caught 23 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown. As a junior he caught 43 yards for 594 yards (13.8 ave) and eight touchdowns, and had 46 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 4 quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. His senior season he caught 33 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns and was named second-team Long Beach Press-Telegram 2013 Football Dream Team. He played in the Under Armour All-America game in St. Petersburg, Florida. Luatua also starred on the basketball team, where he averaged 6.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks as a freshman on the varsity squad.
Luatua was rated 4-stars (grade of 83) by ESPN who had him as the No. 3 tight end nationally and the No. 107 overall recruit for the Class of 2013. He was rated 3-stars by Rivals and Scout, while the 247sports composite considered him a four star prospect, rating him as the third-best tight end in the class and the 14th-best player in the state. Out of High School Luatua held scholarship offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, California, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin. He committed to Notre Dame on December 16, 2013. His brother Isaac is an offensive lineman for Alabama.
| Hometown: | La Mirada, California | High School: | La Mirada | ||||||||
| Last Team: | Notre Dame | HT/WT: | 6’3”, 255 lbs. | ||||||||
| Position: | Tight End | 40 time: | 4.96 | ||||||||
| Profiles: | MaxPreps, HUDL Notre Dame | Bench/Squat: | 4.41 | ||||||||
| Twitter: | @Luatua13 | Vertical: | 26.3 inches | ||||||||
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Offers: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, California, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin | ||||||||||
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(3.3 / 5)Related Articles:
- Tyler Luatua to transfer from Notre Dame to BYU – Paul Skrbina, Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2016
- After visit to BYU, Notre Dame’s Tyler Luatua makes transfer official – Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune, February 1, 2016
- Notre Dame’s Tyelr Luatua transferring to BYU – John Taylor, College Football Talk, January 31, 2016
- Four Star Notre Dame TE Tyler Luatua to transfer. Could he head to BYU? – Jake Welch, Vanquish the Foe, January 25, 2016
- Notre Dame TE Tyler Luatua is College Football’s Most Versatile 270-lb Freshman – Keith Arnold, Bleacher Report, August 13, 2014
- 4-star TE Tyler Luatua commits to Notre Dame over Alabama – Pete Volk, SB Nation, December 16, 2013
