USC is a favorite for Katoa
Tayler Katoa wants to enroll in college early and because of those plans, the 6-foot-1 and 224-pound athlete will make a commitment rather soon.
“I’m taking one or two more visits and then I will commit really soon after that,” Katoa told TrojanSports.com.
The product of Layton, Utah took a trip to USC for an official visit this past weekend. For his remaining visits, he’s only certain about one other Pac-12 trip.
“I know I’m taking University of Utah on the ninth and then I may take one more but I’m not sure,” Katoa said.
With a decision right around the corner, Katoa's visit to USC is certain to weigh heavily on his mind.
“It opened up my eyes to see what a big time program like that is all about and it will factor in my decision,” Katoa said.
Katoa realized just how big USC football is as he was approaching the Coliseum.
“It was unique,” Katoa said. “When we were driving over to the stadium, I had never seen that many tailgaters outside of a stadium. Which is super cool. It just shows the rich tradition they have there. It’s a very historic football program. And then you have a team like Notre Dame that comes in and they also have a rich history in football. And it’s fun to see that. The fans were just going crazy and it was super loud in there. And there were tons and tons and tons of people. And it’s a really cool stadium. I liked the stadium, it was awesome to be in the Coliseum.”
He also had fun with every other aspect of the trip.
“I really enjoyed the visit,” Katoa said. “It was a great visit. I really saw what USC is all about academically and what their football program is about. I really enjoyed seeing what the culture is there, their football program and how the coaches and players interact. I really enjoyed being around the players. They’re really cool and my host (Josh Imatorbhebhe) was awesome. The campus, it was a really cool campus. I’ve actually never been to that part of L.A. and seen USC, so that was awesome. And it was awesome being there on rivalry week and seeing the pep rally and all the excitement through the city and all the people who showed up to the game. That was an awesome game to be a part of and overall it was a great visit. I really enjoyed it and USC is one of my top schools. It was a great visit.”
When asked why USC is a favorite school for him, Katoa names off a long list of reasons.
“Well first off, I see USC, they have a great football program,” Katoa said. “And that’s a given. And then academically, I didn’t realize until I went up there that they’re a private school. Their fitness program is ranked nationally and the communications school is ranked also. I think they’re number one they said. I didn’t realize USC was such a prestigious academic school. And just the USC alumni and the Trojan family and the networking that can happen there is just unreal. It’s an opportunity in football and academically in a career. It’s an opportunity that’s hard to miss on.”
USC coaches will have to sell Katoa on that hard to miss opportunity for a few more weeks. And so far, they’re doing a great job. Katoa enjoyed talking with the coaches on his campus visit.
“Coach (Johnny) Nansen would be my position coach,” Katoa said. “So it was really good sitting down with Coach (Johnny) Nansen and talking football and seeing where I would fit in. And they want me as an inside linebacker, which is awesome. I would love to play that position. They have a rich history with NFL guys going through there, inside linebackers. It would be awesome to play that position there. And Coach (Clay) Helton was awesome. He sat down and just told me what USC is all about and what direction he wants to go with the program. I really liked what I heard.”