Bronco snagged another recruit off of a mission. This time it’s a running back who happens to have a cousin that’s the best high school LB in the country…..Hmmmm ...That’s like dating the not so good-looking girl to get to the cute sister…Bronco wouldn’t do that would he??


Dick Harmon: Des News


PROVO — For the second time this week, a college football player tied to a Division I school and currently serving an LDS mission has accepted a scholarship offer from BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Malosi Te’o, a 5-11, 195-pound running back from Kahuku High School in Hawaii, announced on Thursday he will accept an offer from BYU and enroll in January 2009 instead of UNLV where he signed out of high school. He is on a mission in New York City.

On Monday, former USU quarterback Riley Nelson announced he would accept a BYU offer and transfer to play for the Cougars.

“It’s a dream come true for my son,” said Te’o's father, Ephraim, who has another son, Levi, at Timpview High School being evaluated by BYU. Malosi Te’o is a first cousin to 2008 Cougar recruit Shiloah Te’o, who also played at Kahuku. Both are cousins to national blue-chip linebacker recruit Manti Te’o, out of Punahou High in Honolulu who is on the top of BYU’s recruiting board for the class of 2009.

Malosi Te’o sent letters to UNLV and BYU informing them of his intentions. He never enrolled at UNLV after signing a national letter-of-intent his senior year.

Here’s the stats on his cousin, the #1 LB and #7 overall player in the class of 2009:

P1 and Lakers fan Travis pays up for saying the Jazz would get swept at the ESA. He gets his Jazz logo tattoo today. He’s been pepper sprayed and had his eyebrows shaved after losing bets to the MMS before. Here is the pepper spray video…..

It’s the story of the day, especially in Utah, especially in Utah when the Jazz are out of the playoffs in May. But is Riley Nelson worth all the talk?


Consider if you will:


-He was a two star player coming out of high school and most schools, including Utah, Stanford and Washington wanted him more as a safety than as a QB, which is one of the main reasons he ultimately chose Utah State.
-His measureables are ordinary at best: 4.9 40 comiing out of high school at 6’1 195.
-Recruited by only Stanford and Washington of the “big schools”, which are the #9 and #10 teams in the Pac-10.
-His numbers for one season with the Aggies aren’t great, aren’t good, are actually bad. Give him the excuse of being on a bad team.
-Last 5 games of freshman season, in other words after teams had some tape on him and against such power houses as La. Tech, Nevada and New Mexico State, Nelson went 44-93 with 2 TD’s and 7 Ints with no TD’s and 5 Ints in his last 4 games….1-6 as a starter.
-Do BYU fans really want an ex-Aggie at the controls?