Nebraska was not on the original itinerary for Preston Taumua.
The Waipahu senior would have endured a long trip back from Alabama and Auburn. This family and circle of coaches decided to make a pit stop at Nebraska. That led to a big win for the Cornhuskers and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola on Thursday when Taumua, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive lineman turned down 20 schools, including Alabama and Oregon, to pledge his football and academic careers to Big Red.
His parents, Lillian and Faafauina Taumua, were at his side as he signed his National Letter of Intent at precisely 7 a.m. Then he called his coach.
Taumua’s signing with Nebraska was another major recruiting boost for the Huskers, who landed the nation’s No. 1-rated high school quarterback, Dylan Raiola, nephew of coach Raiola. He flipped from Georgia to the Huskers.
“Coach (Matt) Rhule was really at the front door for us. I didn’t get that at a lot of colleges. I felt that from him when I got in there,” Taumua said.
The 21 offers on the table for Taumua, who has a 3.7 grade-point average, didn’t change even after he suffered a knee injury in the offseason. It was a second injury for Taumua in his football career, and again, he rehabbed and was back on the field five months later. He suited up and played in Waipahu’s last four games.
“Our line didn’t allow a sack in our most important games with Preston there,” Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said.
Taumua’s JPS coach, Zack Mauga, has been there from the beginning six years ago. When he moved from Aiea to Waipahu, he became an offensive coordinator. Taumua was among the players who also moved over with Mauga.
“We’re so proud of him. It’s a dream that’s become reality for him. I never knew he would get this far. He put in the work and overcame a lot of obstacles. The knee surgeries, still became on of the best linemen in the nation,” Mauga said. “We were content with him not playing this year, but Preston being Preston, coming back from ACL surgery in five months, that’s unheard of. Playing at a high level.”
The process of visiting Nebraska involved Mauga’s wife, Ula. She met Taumua at the Huskers’ campus during the visit.
“From Auburn, he went to Nebraska, and from there to Oregon,” Mauga said. “We did that just so he didn’t have to fly all the way back to Hawaii and take another six-hour flight, then back (to Oregon) with another six-hour flight,” Mauga said. “My wife came back and she was so high on Nebraska. She kept saying, ‘He needs to go there! He needs to go there! Preston loved it, as well.’”
Taumua will ride out senior year, continuing workouts and rehab.
“The class coming in at Nebraska, they think they can turn it around,” Mauga said. “They’re going to be legends at Nebraska if they turn it around.”