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re: Class of 2019 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: That's a Wrap Edition
Posted on 3/28/18 at 3:46 pm to MontyFranklyn
Posted on 3/28/18 at 3:46 pm to MontyFranklyn
Is Musika Hawaiian? I had assumed he was of Mexican descent.
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 4:50 pm
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Posted on 3/28/18 at 3:53 pm to TidalSurge1
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I had assumed he was of Mexican decent.
Even better, maybe he can help us land a kicker.
Posted on 3/28/18 at 4:32 pm to tider04
We will need him vs teams like LSU and he we will get in shape. Probably lose 20 pounds by start of season.
Posted on 3/28/18 at 4:55 pm to TidalSurge1
Musika is Polynesian but he’s from California so I’m not sure if he’s Hawaiian or Somoan or something else. His cousin is former Washington DT Vita Vea who will be a first round pick in next month’s NFL Draft. They both went to Milpitas high school in California about 40 minutes east of San Mateo.
LINK
LINK
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Alabama wanted to sign at least one more defensive lineman to add to 4-star prospects Christian Barmore and Stephon Wynn in the 2018 class but failed to do so on National Signing Day after Bobby Brown flipped to Texas A&M and Malik Langham chose Florida over the Crimson Tide.
Nick Saban and his staff have been looking for junior college prospects since Signing Day in February, and Alabama has found its guy in College of San Mateo Class of 2018 defensive tackle Tevita Musika.
Musika took an official visit to Alabama over the weekend. The staff wanted to evaluate Musika in person first before deciding if it was going to extended scholarship papers his way. Alabama came away impressed with the measurables for Musika, who is 6-foot-2 and weighs 360 pounds. He also has 33½-inch arms, which is the equivalent to someone who is 6-foot-5. Musika also lived with his cousin Vita Vea, a former Washington standout who is likely going to be a top selection in this year’s NFL draft.
Musika, who has three years of eligibility to play two seasons, didn’t sign with a team in February because it was unclear if he was going to have the grades necessary to qualify. He has since worked hard in the classroom and is expected to join the Tide in May.
The addition of Musika, a true nose guard, is welcomed for Alabama because both of the team’s top options at the position last season — Da’Ron Payne and Josh Frazier — are waiting to see which NFL team selects them.
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 5:04 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 5:39 pm to T Rich3
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Andrew Bone @AndrewJBone
JuCo DL Tevita Musika signs with #Alabama. He is a member of the 2018 class. He visited Alabama this past weekend. He measured 6-foot-2, 340-pounds. Crimson Tide adds some beef on the thin defensive front.
12:09 pm · Mar 28, 2018
>>> DT Tevita Musika 6-2/340 (Juco/CA) hudl
This post was edited on 3/29/18 at 9:24 am
Posted on 3/28/18 at 5:50 pm to TidalSurge1
Clay Webb, Paul Tyson and Pierce Quick on spring break together in Seaside, FL. quote:
Pierce Quick @PierceQuick
Bama Boys takin over Florida #ROLL1N9
Paul Tyson and 9 others
12:10 pm · Mar 28, 2018 from Seaside Cottage
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 6:11 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 5:51 pm to TidalSurge1
He carries that 340-360 well. Wish we had the luxury of redshirting him.
Posted on 3/28/18 at 7:34 pm to Tide or Die87
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He carries that 340-360 well. Wish we had the luxury of redshirting him.
Why do you want to redshirt Musika?
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 7:36 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 7:42 pm to Tide or Die87
He needs to drop 30 Lbs and probably work on stamina and strength.
I expect Cochran will have him in game shape by August.
I expect Cochran will have him in game shape by August.
Posted on 3/28/18 at 7:46 pm to Eli Goldfinger
Alright fellas, I'm officially on vacation until Tuesday so I won't be around much over the next 5 days.
Y'all help TidalSurge bring the articles I'd normally post.
Y'all help TidalSurge bring the articles I'd normally post.
Posted on 3/28/18 at 7:57 pm to TideSaint
What Bama gets in new signee Tevita Musika, first cousin of potential top-15 draft pick
Tevita Musika will likely see the field at NT this fall.
Tevita Musika will likely see the field at NT this fall.
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Welcome to SEC Country’s daily Roll Tide-ings, a rundown of everything happening in Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting with Chris Kirschner. Today, we talk the latest with Alabama’s Wednesday junior college defensive line signee.
Tevita Musika gives Alabama quality depth addition
Tevita Musika grew up in the same household as Tevita “Vita” Vea, a former Washington standout and likely top 15 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Because both shared the same name (Tevita is the Tongan version of David), there had to be a way to distinguish the two if called upon.
There was an easy choice. Because of their completely different body shapes, Vea is 6-foot-5 and nearly 350 pounds, while Musika is 6-2 and over 350 pounds, the family decided to give them nicknames that suited their body frames.
“Their nicknames are ‘Tall Vita’ and ‘Wide Vita,’ ” College of San Mateo coach Tim Tulloch told SEC Country. “Vita Vea is ‘Tall Vita’ and Tevita Musika is ‘Wide Vita.’ ”
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 8:50 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 7:57 pm to TidalSurge1
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While Vea has received an enormous amount of attention as being one of the top players in this year’s draft, his cousin, Musika, who signed with Alabama on Wednesday, didn’t receive any attention from schools coming out of high school and only a few expressed interest in signing him after he finished junior college.
Musika was a first-team California Community College Athletic Association All-American last season after registering 42 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Alabama wanted to sign at least one more defensive lineman in the 2018 class on National Signing Day in February. The Crimson Tide had a commitment from Bobby Brown, but he ended up flipping to Texas A&M, which caught Alabama off guard because he didn’t give the team any indication that he planned to do so. Alabama also wanted to sign Malik Langham, who’s from the Huntsville area, but he ended up choosing Florida.
That left the Tide with only two defensive line signees in the 2018 class — 4-star prospects Christian Barmore and Stephon Wynn. Coach Nick Saban made it clear during his press conference on Signing Day that the team was looking to add one more player, and the Tide, mainly Lupoi, identified Musika as a top target.
This post was edited on 3/29/18 at 9:41 am
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:10 pm to TidalSurge1
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Tulloch credits Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who led the charge on Musika’s recruitment, for landing a steal.
“Tosh always stays in touch with us,” Tulloch said. “He’s an unbelievably thorough recruiter. Recruiting is one of those things that never stops. The good ones are always making sure they know everybody. He knows about all of our top prospects here. When they decided they had a need and wanted to move on a JUCO nose guard, he knew where to go because he knew about Tevita. That’s why Tosh is where he is today because of how great of a recruiter he is.”
Tulloch, who has been at College of San Mateo since 1997, had known Lupoi since the Alabama defensive coordinator was Cal’s defensive line coach in 2008. Tulloch said Lupoi is one of the best recruiters in the country and has a reputation on the West Coast as being the best recruiter in that area.
“Joining that Alabama staff really put everyone in the nation on alert,” Tulloch said of Lupoi. “What’s missed a lot of the times with Tosh, in my opinion, we talk a lot about his recruiting efforts, but he’s also a really good football coach. He’s as detailed at the technical aspects of the game as far as linebackers and defensive line play as anyone. That defense is just going to get better. They are going to pick up where they left off. They are not going backward. They are going forward.
“With Tosh’s creativity and innovation, what he’s going to be able to do with the front seven guys, you are going to see stuff that’s different and stuff that we may not have seen before in college football. Don’t be surprised if that defense is a notch or two better than what it was last year, which is scary to think about.”
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 8:49 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:10 pm to TidalSurge1
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And now Alabama adds Musika, who adds quality depth for a relatively thin unit. The Tide lost starting nose guard Da’Ron Payne and his backup Josh Frazier after last season. With the addition of Musika, he gives the Tide a true nose guard for the upcoming season.
“He’s 6-foot-2 and weighs over 350 pounds,” Tulloch said. “He’s your dominant nose guard. He’s a little taller than [former New England Patriots great Vince] Wilfork. For teams like Alabama that run an NFL pro-style defense, when you want to be able to get in and out of odd fronts in your 3-4 defense, what Musika does for you is allows you the flexibility to put him right there in a 0 [technique] lined up over the center, but he can also kick out and go up against a guard and play in a 40 front as well. So, it’s not just when he’s in that they are running an odd front and running a 3-4 defense. He’s able to move around.
“He’s very smart and knew our defense from front to back. He was able to ID backfield sets and ID protection sets. He can cause lots of problems in the center of the defense.”
Musika has three years of eligibility remaining to play two seasons of college football. He’s expected to arrive in Tuscaloosa in late May, so he can be there for the start of the first summer session with the team.
Tulloch gave his breakdown of what kind of player Alabama fans should expect to see when Musika gets on campus.“Tevita is an extremely powerful kid, especially at the point of attack,” Tulloch said. “The strength of the defense is right at nose tackle, and Tevita is a kid who is over 350 pounds with extremely strong hands, plays with a motor and chases the ball every down.
“For a guy who is only 6-2, he has extremely long arms — he has 33½-inch arms [the equivalent of a person who is roughly 6-5] — he has learned to play with length. He also has extremely strong hands. To be able to play with that length at nose guard, he has natural leverage, power and arm length, which gives you that NFL prototypical nose guard.”
Check out Musika’s highlights here.
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 9:18 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:10 pm to TidalSurge1
Will 5-star Hawaiian DL, former teammate of Tua Tagovailoa’s, commit to Alabama?
Faatui Tuitele has a chance to be the next 5-star Hawaiian to choose Alabama.
Faatui Tuitele has a chance to be the next 5-star Hawaiian to choose Alabama.
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Alabama finished seventh in the 2018 class recruiting rankings, but expect the Crimson Tide to be back on top in 2019. SEC Country’s Chris Kirschner will answer the Recruiting Question of the Day each weekday. You can ask him your questions on Twitter or on Facebook. Find our previous questions and answers here.
If things go really well for Faatui Tuitele on his visit next week, do you think a commitment could happen soon? I know it only took one visit for Tua to commit. From @laquon1
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 8:26 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:23 pm to TidalSurge1
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Faatui Tuitele, the nation’s No. 2 defensive tackle from St. Louis School (Honolulu), will make his first visit to Alabama this upcoming week. Tuitele told SEC Country he flies from Hawaii to Alabama on Sunday and will likely stay until April 4. He’s not sure when he’s leaving Alabama, but he’ll be there for at least two full days.
It’s a big visit for Tuitele and Alabama. He doesn’t have an offer from the Crimson Tide yet, but that will most likely come by the time he leaves Tuscaloosa. The Alabama staff just wanted to see if he had serious interest in the Tide before extending an offer. It also isn’t a bad thing to offer an elite prospect in person because, in my opinion, that’s more meaningful.
There is a major connection with Tuitele and Alabama, which definitely helps the Tide’s chances, and that’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They are former teammates and distant cousins.
“He deserves everything,” Tuitele said of Tagovailoa’s success. “I know how hard he works. He has a great family. Uncle Galu and Auntie Diane (Tagovailoa’s parents) are great people and back him up with everything. We are raised to put God first with everything. That’s what Tua did. He represented our culture, our people and the island so well. It was awesome to see.”
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 9:17 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:24 pm to TidalSurge1
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So could Alabama possibly get a commitment from Tuitele shortly after he visits Tuscaloosa? Certainly. As Laquon noted, it did take only one visit for Tagovailoa to decide to commit to Alabama. Tagovailoa visited in April 2016 and committed that May. Tagovailoa spent several days in Tuscaloosa. If I remember correctly, it was around five days.
Tuitele is scheduled for just two as of now. Will that be enough for him to choose Alabama? I’m not sure. It certainly helps that Tagovailoa is at Alabama and Taulia Tagovailoa, a 4-star quarterback in the 2019 class and Tua’s brother, seems likely to choose the Tide.
I said at the time I spoke with Tuitele last month that I got similar vibes to when I spoke with Tua Tagovailoa over the phone the first time he expressed interest in Alabama. You could just tell the excitement in their voices that Alabama was a school they dreamed of playing for but it just never seemed like a reality because of their distance from the school to their home in Hawaii.
Even before he gets offered by Alabama, I am projecting Tuitele to sign with the Tide.
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 9:15 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:34 pm to TidalSurge1
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Musika is 6-2
Dude must be a bit of a late bloomer (height wise). He looks taller in his juco tape, but in his HS tape (class of 15) he looks about 5’10”. Wonder if he hit a spurt and that’s why he didn’t have much pub before now (though i think he did have a scholly offer to Hawaii out of HS (but he also may not have had the grades to accept the offer)).
Posted on 3/28/18 at 8:41 pm to TidalSurge1
I know he's standing with two linemen, but damn, how many times has Tyson skipped leg day? 
This post was edited on 3/28/18 at 8:42 pm
Posted on 3/28/18 at 9:09 pm to Eli Goldfinger
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He needs to drop 30 Lbs and probably work on stamina and strength.
I expect Cochran will have him in game shape by August.
In the SEC Country article (above), Musika's Juco coach said he was 6'2" and over 350 lbs. Andrew Bone's tweet (above) said Bama measured and weighed him at 6'2"/340-lbs. So, apparently he's lost about 15 lbs recently. He's still too heavy, but he'll arrive in early June, so Cochran should have him in much better shape by fall.
This post was edited on 3/29/18 at 9:49 am
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