'08 HI OL Benji Kemoeatu

[MililaniBuckeye]

Benji Kemoeatu


Offensive guard
Kahuku (HI) Kahuku
Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 315 lbs

Hawaii's top OL according to Rivals. Although he currently isn't listing Hawaii, UH head coach June Jones can't afford to let this kid go without a fight. Benji's schools of interest are California, Colorado, Oregon State, USC, UNLV, Utah, and Washington.

[GoRU]

Salt Lake Tribune - Recruiting: Family ties may help Utah football

Kemoeatu, who is also being recruited by several Pac-10 schools, would be a huge get for Utah if he commits and if he qualifies academically.

The younger brother of former Utah and current NFL players Chris and Ma'ake Kemoeatu is one of the top recruits in the West. He will be accompanied by his Kahuku teammate, Anthony Siilata, an offensive lineman who hinted that he might return to the islands as a Ute.

"I've been looking forward to taking this trip since I was a freshman," Siilata said Monday. "I love Utah. There's a chance, a real good chance" that he could commit.

[GoRU]

OSUFootball

Add three prep verbal commitments to Oregon State’s list, which now numbers 10: Offensive linemen Benji Kemoeatu, 6-3, 315 pounds, and Anthony Siilata, 6-2, 285, both from Kahuku, Hawaii; and Kameron Krebs, a 6-1, 210-pound safety formerly of Kahuku who now lives in Mission Viejo, Calif.

[GoRU]

Tribune Blogs -- The recruiting trail

Benji Kemoeatu, the four-star football recruit from Hawaii, boarded an airplane on Thursday afternoon and flew to.................Corvallis, Oregon.

"I am going to Oregon State tomorrow. My flight leaves at 2 p..m.," Kemoeatu said Wednesday night. "[Teammate] Anthony Siilata is going, too."

The question for University of Utah football fans: Will they commit to the Beavers this weekend?

Kemoeatu, whose three older brothers played for Utah, said he probably won't decide until the night before signing day, which is Feb. 6.

"It is pretty hard to decide, because my brothers went out to Utah," he said. "I wouldn't mind going there, but Oregon State has a good program, too. I am just trying to keep my options open until signing day."

There was a question earlier this week whether Kemoeatu would be going to Oregon State or West Virginia this weekend.

He said he has been talking to West Virginia coaches a lot about making a trip to Huntington, "but I guess we ran out of time.....They said they are really interested, though. I think they are coming out here before [signing day], though."

The 6-foot-3, 315-pound senior acknowledged his biggest obstacle right now is qualifying academically. He said he has to get a better grade in a physical science course he is re-taking and/or improve his college admission test score.

"I took the SAT, but I haven't gottten my scores back," he said. "But I feel pretty confident about the last test that I took."

Asked to put a percentage on his chances to qualify academically, Kemoeatu said, "100 percent. I feel pretty strong about it. I know I am going to get past that [NCAA] clearinghouse."

Two of Kemoeatu's went from the University of Utah to the NFL, but the recruit said Chris and Ma'ake are not putting a lot of pressure on him to follow in their footsteps.

"They just said to go somewhere where you will get a good education and where you will feel comfortable," Kemoeatu said.

He also noted that he and Siilata are not a "package deal," and that there is a possibility they could be going to different schools. The Utes have also offered Kahuku linebacker Alema Tachibana, whom Kemoeatu said is visiting Hawaii this weekend.

"A lot of people out there are kind of doubting me, but I will get it done. You watch," he said.