Tausili Akana reels in 20th offer, No. 1 OLB rating in nation

Tausili Akana keeps working and the opportunities keep growing.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore received his 20th scholarship offer recently. Mississippi State is the third SEC school to make an offer to the current Kahuku student. Ole Miss offered on Mar. 3 and LSU opened a door on Apr. 29.

“Of course, the conference is one of the best in the country. That conference is filled with talented athletes and it is very competitive football. Past Kahuku basketball player Tolu Smith is playing there, also. We keep in contact a lot and he is excited about my opportunity,” Akana said.

Akana also garnered a No. 1 rating as an outside linebacker for the class of 2023 from 247sports.com.

“That feels crazy! Especially coming from a small community, it makes me want to work harder and harder. I’m always expecting others to get better and better, so I need to never be satisfied, and keep working on my game,” he said. “My parents keep reminding me, the process is not a sprint, but a marathon.”

With older sisters Braelyn (Hawaii) and Keonilei (Nebraska) paving the way, the step-by-step process has been highly successful for Tausili Akana. Neither of his sisters, however, received a scholarship offer while in eighth grade.

“I’ve been blessed to experience what I have experienced for the past two years. Our family has been raised around college student-athletes. As a young boy, my dad coached at BYU-Hawaii and the University of Hawaii men’s basketball. My older sisters and I always wanted to be college athletes,” Akana said. “Our parents tried to equip us at a young age, but I’m still learning and growing in the recruiting process. My older sisters (Braelyn, Keonilei) are living the college life. I hope to do so in the next couple of years. Still have a long ways to go.”

More offers, more interest, more calls and texts in the daily life of a soon-to-be junior.

“Things have gotten crazy for me. I am always on the phone with university coaches. My dad (Kahuku basketball coach Brandyn Akana) helps a lot with my recruiting process. It can get hectic at times. I’m getting better and better at taking with coaches,” he said.

Akana planned to do an unofficial visit to Hawaii this week and has more of them planned for other campuses.

“My days are pretty busy with training, workouts and communicating with coaches. With my free time, I’m doing some fishing. I love being out on the ocean,” said Akana, who spent his sophomore season playing for Wasatch (Utah) while Hawaii’s season was postponed and cancelled.

“I want to shout out my family. They continue to support me in everything I do,” he said. “I’m blessed to have a family that wants the best for me. I love them all.”

Tausili Akana, Kamehameha/Wasatch, OLB, 6-4, 210
Offers: 20
Utah 6/20/19
BYU 6/20/19
Hawaii 6/21/19
Arizona State 6/30/20
UNLV 8/27/20
Oregon State 9/8/20
Utah State 9/14/20
Nebraska 10/16/20
Oklahoma State 11/16/20
Oregon 12/21/20
Washington State 12/25/20
Ole Miss 3/3/21
Colorado 3/9/21
USC 3/17/21
Washington 4/23/21
LSU 4/29/21
Wisconsin 4/30/21
Arizona 5/1/21
Cal 5/11/21
Mississippi State 5/27/21