Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY TOM LOY E arly on in his recruiting process, La Mirada (Calif.) High tight end Tyler Luatua was torn on whether or not to leave the West Coast for college. California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC and Washington had all offered the 6-3, 241-pound prospect, and staying close to home would have been easy. However, with offers from elite programs such as Alabama, Flor- ida State, Notre Dame and others, the thought of getting away from home for a few years became much more appealing. "When I was a sophomore, I was kind of a little more interested in just staying near my family and playing in front of them and my friends," Luatua said. "I just thought it would be bet- ter and more fun to be around them. Then as I got older, I started feeling different. I was starting to realize that it could be cool to get away for school and just see what else is out there. "I started looking into Notre Dame, and everyone around here always said how great it was and how it's just different than the rest of the places. I started to get that feeling myself. I visited for that game against USC this year and I pretty much saw what everyone else had already told me. Committing there was pretty easy af- ter that." Notre Dame Makes Leaving Home Easy For Tyler Luatua Luatua — a native of Paramount, Calif., who was the No. 7 tight end in the country according to 247Sports — picked the Irish over Alabama, Ole Miss and USC. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS