Tar Heels Target Pledges Commitment To Arizona

For the second time in three days the North Carolina Tar Heels had a target give their verbal commitment to another school.

After losing out on wide receiver Xavier McDonald from Mississippi on Thursday night, they found out on Saturday defensive lineman Manoah Faupusa pledged his verbal commitment to the University of Arizona.

Faupusa is from Santa Margarita, Calif. He played at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.

He took an official visit to North Carolina in April. It was his first official visit to a school. He was in Chapel Hill for the "practice like a pro" event inside Kenan Memorial Stadium.

After returning home, he spoke with Rivals and said he was comfortable with the coaches in North Carolina and that he felt like it was home.

"My visit went really well. I definitely got everything that I was looking for out of this visit," Faupusa said. "It really feels like home and is a place I can see myself strive at."

It appeared after the visit the Tar Heels were the team to beat for his services. Verbal commitments are non-binding and he reserves the right to change his commitment until he signs his National Letter of Intent.

"It was a great experience. Coach Belichick’s mind is beyond anyone that I’ve witnessed, the way he views the game just makes sense but it’s nothing I’ve ever thought of," Faupusa said. "I also like the way that Coach Diaco runs his D-Line. That is a very important part for my decision and I’m all for how they are doing it in Chapel Hill."

He visited Arizona on June 20, four days after he took a visit to Colorado.

The 6-foot-2, 360 pounder chose Arizona over Colorado and North Carolina. The Tar Heels end up being the bridesmaid once again this week.

He joins high school teammate, linebacker Dash Fifita, in Arizona’s recruiting class. Faupusa started his high school career at Los Alamitos, then played at St. Ignatius in San Francisco before returning to Southern California.

Faupusa is a big man on the line of scrimmage and can swallow blockers with the best of them. He might be a little too big right now and will need to lose some body-mass once he gets to school.

Faupusa is ranked as a 3-star in 247Sports’ rankings. He is listed as the 68th-best player in California.

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