The 2015 BYU at Provo football recruiting class made national news Feb. 4, but not for signing a big name 5-star recruit. Instead the recruit that caught national attention has not even played a real game of football yet. Motekiai Langi, from Liahona High School in Liahona, Tonga, has caught the college football world by storm because of his massive size. Langi comes in measuring 6-foot-7 and weighing 410-pounds. “This is an exciting new recruit,” said Trinity Waddell, a junior bio-medical major from Dayton, Texas. “No doubt he’ll be fun to watch crushing people.”But do not let his size fool you. Langi, who grew up playing rugby, has surprisingly quick feet along with his impressive size. “It’s not a fat 410 pounds,” said BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall during a press conference on signing day. “He is a solid, healthy-looking giant man. I think if I’m any kind of coach at all and our staff is, there’s got to be something we can teach that guy to do.”The coaching staff first learned of Langi two years ago when coaching assistantSteve Kaufusi saw Langi playing a pickup basketball game while on the island of Tonga. Kaufusi was impressed not only with Langi’s size but his speed and quick feet as well. “Kaufusi thought he was light on his feet and could play football,” said Mendenhall.Though not having the intention to offer Langi a scholarship, Mendenhall quickly had a change of heart after just a short 15 minute meeting with Langi, and offered the recruit a football scholarship.Unfortunately, BYU fans are going to have to wait a couple years before having a chance to see Langi play his first football game. Langi currently is in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah preparing to serve an LDS Church mission to Arizona.This will not be the first time Mendenhall and the BYU football team has attempted to teach the game of football to someone who has never played it. A few years ago, an unknown walk-on from Ghana, Ezekiel Ansah, who had never played football, joined the football team. After learning the game and having a successful college career, Ansah was drafted No. 5 overall by the Detroit Lions.Uploaded March 2, 2015
Writer: Matthew Roberts
