August 25, 2011
Feao Vunipola will be a key component for Pittsburg High this upcoming season. This 2012 prospect can play both ways for the Pirates at the linebacker and running back positions. Vunipola had 72 rushes for 466 yards and six touchdowns and caught 12 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns while registering 31 tackles on defense.
At 6-foot and 220 pounds, Vunipola can run 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has a shuttle time of 4.20 seconds, can bench press 295 pounds, squat 475 pounds, and has a vertical of 32 inches.
The current schools that are in contact with him include Cal, Cal Poly, Colorado, Fresno State, Idaho, Northern Arizona, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State.
Vunipola, whose name means "With God", has had some initial thoughts about these schools and their conferences that he is in contact with.
Big Sky Conference (Cal Poly and Northern Arizona): Vunipola says, "I think the Big Sky conference is an underrated conference. They might not have the biggest name of all the others but I see that they are developing a lot of great athletes for the NFL. They have stepped up their recruiting process and brought a lot of great athletes to that conference. This conference has a lot of speed the last time I checked, especially Eastern Washington."
Mountain West Conference (San Diego State): "The Mountain West Conference is another under rated conference in my opinion. There's lots of big names in the conference that can do some damage against the big named teams, such as Cal, Washington, etc. I believe that's the reason why they brought up Boise State because they have been dominating lately. Don't let the little names fool you. These teams have some great athletes - especially Boise State and San Diego State."
Pac-12 Conference (Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State): "The Pac-12 conference is my probably my favorite conference of all. I love that is in the west coast and I can stay close to home. One of the reasons why I love this conference is because I think they're the most competitive conference in all of sports. This conference has the most national titles from all sports from softball, football all the way to tennis. This conference is great in every sport. My goal is to work my way up there to one of these schools."
Western Athletic Conference (Fresno State, Idaho, and San Jose State): "I would love to play for any team in the WAC conference. Every team in this conference has great programs. I have a lot of interest in Fresno especially."
Vunipola was busily attending football camps at Cal, San Diego, and USC during the summer.
When asked about what he worked on the most during the summer for his senior football season, Vunipola says, "During the summer my main goal was just to get faster and bigger. I spent most of my days in the summer either in the weight room or on the field. We did a lot of speed training. Before the summer we tested, I ran a 4.6 in the 40 yard dash. Then we tested again after the summer I ran a 4.48. I also gained 15 pounds. I improved a lot from last year. I'm ready for whatever next year."
Pittsburg quarterback Malik Watson considers Vunipola to be the heart and soul for the football team. Watson says, "The guy is a beast and he reminds me of Rey Mauluga on defense and Stanley Havlili from USC when on offense but he's a RB right now so he is just a total savage coming out of the backfield with that 4.4 speed and weighing that much that is just something I've never seen in high school and I can't wait to see what he does this season because he is a great leader and player and he leads by example on the field. And he lets his play do the talking."
As a linebacker and running back, Vunipola has these thoughts on some of the contemporary players that he follows.
Frank Gore: "Frank Gore is probably one of my favorite running back in the league. He's been outstanding the past 4 years. First running back in 49er history to rush for 1000+ yards for four years consecutively. He is like a little bowling bowl out there on the field. He might be a little undersized but it won't be easy to tackle him. One thiing I like about his the most is his patience, he has great patience when he's behind his linemen."
Adrian Peterson: "Adrian Peterson is maybe one of the best running backs to ever live. He has done a lot of crazy things in the short amount of time he's been in the NFL. Just by the way he runs you can tell he's a great running back. He has the power to run over d-lineman and the speed to outrun cornerbacks. If he continues to do what he's doing he can easily be known as the best running back of all time."
Derrick Brooks: "Derrick Brooks is one of my favorite linebackers. A lot of people doubted him at linebacker due to his size. When he was drafted, they projected him to transition to safety but he refused to change positions. The main thing I loved about him was his heart. He was a little bit undersized but he definitely played as if he was a lot bigger."
If the Pirates start the season clicking, they should be heard deep into the playoffs. A big reason for that outcome will be the play of Vunipola. Watch for Vunipola to run with purpose in the upcoming season in Pittsburg, California.
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