Four-star EDGE Tausili Akana commits to Texas
After landing one native Hawaiian at linebacker, Texas decided to add another. 2023 Lehi (Utah) Skyridge EDGE Tausili Akana has committed to Texas. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound On3 four-star chose Texas over Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Tennessee, and USC.
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Akana and Liona Lefau had spoken about playing together at the next level. Now, it’s a reality.
Akana, a native of Kahuku, Hawaii, played his freshman season at Kamehameha in Hawaii, at Wasatch High in Utah as a sophomore, and then at Skyridge High in Utah in 2021. His sister, Keonilei Akana, is a volleyball player at Texas and was named the Hawaii player of the year in high school as a senior.
During his recruitment. Akana took visits to seven different programs across the southeast and Texas in Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M. He visited Oklahoma twice in October, along with other mid-season visits to LSU and Texas A&M.
How he fits at Texas
Akana is a pretty interesting player, his positional designation will likely end up being the “Buck” Edge position because he’s currently a bit lighter at 210 and would need to add a great deal of weight to end up at the “Jack” position. Akana is a very explosive player in his reactions though, with the physicality and violent hands to play on the line of scrimmage and so you wonder what he might be capable of with the requisite size and strength. He’ll definitely end up at an Edge position, his ability to hit the gas at any moment and close on the ball paired with solid reach and good hands will make him a terror coming around the corner. – Ian Boyd
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Coach Says
Strengths – Great frame for this position with longish arms. Not done growing. Shows great flexibility in the hips with great hip roll. Quick feet. Explosive first step and tremendous closing speed. Chases down backside pursuit quickly. He transfers power from lower to upper body efficiently. he delivers significant power through the tackle. Keeps legs moving on contact. Will post the blocker and set the edge with a free shoulder. Good upper body strength to keep his outside shoulder free. Will run the arc effectively, converting speed to power. Active hands. High motor. High floor player.
Areas for Improvement / Concerns – Some highlights have him showing his back to the blocker in spin moves. Will get upfield quickly and looks vulnerable to the draw underneath him, but this seems more of a scheme/coaching point than a habit of the player. Opponent film consistently shows them running away from him. Ability to cover open space is a question.
Akana ranks as the No. 102 prospect and No. 17 EDGE in the country per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 ranks Akana as the No. 286 player, the No. 30 EDGE, and the No. 2 prospect in Utah.
The four-star has an On3 NIL Valuation of $115K. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
