9/7/2023 football Edit

COMMITMENT: Arizona adds 2024 Bay Area linebacker Sefo Akuila

Matt Moreno • GOAZCATS

Senior Editor

Matt Moreno is the senior editor at GOAZCATS.com. He joined the staff in August of 2011 and began as senior recruiting editor with the site before becoming senior editor in June of 2014.

If you look at Sefo Akuila's HUDL highlight video profile you see a lot of positions listed. The 6-foot-3 prospect from California's Bay Area has worn many hats throughout his high school career from playing quarterback to receiver, punter, defensive back and nearly everything in between.

The three-star recruit is as versatile as they come, and Arizona acknowledged his talent early in the process. After multiple visits to Tucson earlier in the year, Akuila announced his commitment to the Wildcats late Wednesday night picking Jedd Fisch's program over a host of other offers including schools such as nearby Cal, Washington State, Nevada and BYU.

Many other programs expressed plenty of interest in the multi-position prospect, however, Arizona remained most consistent in his recruitment and that work by outside linebackers and edge rushers coach Jason Kaufusi eventually paid off.

The senior from Tennyson High School in Hayward, California is expected to settle in as a defensive player at Arizona with the edge rusher role being his likely fit in Johnny Nansen's system.

Akuila built a solid relationship with the UA staff over the course of his recruitment leading to two visits to the school earlier in the process. He took an official visit to Arizona back in early June before taking time to evaluate his options.

Now he becomes the 21st commitment for the Wildcats in the 2024 class moving the group up to No. 35 in the Rivals team recruiting rankings.

Arizona's coaching staff has targeted Northern California quite a bit since Fisch's arrival and Akuila is just one prospect from the region to join the Wildcats' 2024 class.

UA currently holds commitments from offensive lineman Justin Hylkema (Santa Clara-Wilcox) and defensive back Kayo Patu who was at Capital Christian in Sacramento when he committed before making the move up to Seattle for his senior season.

The Wildcats have been focused on raising the talent level at the edge positions with commitments from several recruits including high four-star Elijah Rushing, Keona Wilhite, Jaedon Langley and Eduwa Okundaye.

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