Dustin Elisara and Tuu Lolohea Commit to UH (w/UPDATES)

Stephen Tsai writes that Kapolei linebackers Dustin Elisara and Tuu Lolohea will become Warriors.

Elisara, who is 6 feet 2 and 245 pounds, is Hawai‘i’s sixth-ranked prospect in the Scout.com ratings. He is projected to compete at middle linebacker for the Warriors.
Lolohea, who is 6 feet 2 and 240 pounds, will compete at outside linebacker.

By committing to UH, both players are canceling recruiting trips to Arkansas next week.

Elisara also is turning down offers from Oregon State, Arizona and Wyoming. Lolohea said he received offers from Idaho, Arizona and Colorado.

Sweeeet. Congrats to Dustin and Tuu!

Here are their 2009 highlights:





UPDATE: Jason Kaneshiro has more.

Kapolei head coach Darren Hernandez confirmed that Hurricane linebackers Dustin Elisara and Tuulauena Lolohea have committed to Hawaii following their visits this past weekend.
“They were impressed and wowed by UH,” Hernandez said. “I think they’ll be great Warriors.”
Elisara (6-foot-2, 252 pounds) led Kapolei with 89 tackles, including two sacks, and had two interceptions as the Hurricanes’ middle linebacker. Lolohea (6-2, 245) had 86 tackles with 11 sacks from his outside linebacker spot.

UPDATE 2 (1/19/10): Stephen Tsai interviews the players and their coach.

"Everything I want is in Hawai'i," Elisara said. "All of my friends and family are here. It would mean a lot for them to see me play at Aloha Stadium."

Lolohea said: "Staying at home is a big plus. I had a good time on my (recruiting) trip (the past weekend). I like the coaches. I like how they care about the local kids."

Elisara and Lolohea thought they would choose Mainland schools. But that changed this past weekend after going on an official UH recruiting trip.

Linebacker Art Laurel and defensive end Earvin Sione served as hosts.

"I had a really good time," Elisara said.

Lolohea said: "I liked that they didn't force anything on us. They answered our questions."

Hernandez said "both guys initially wanted to go away. But they were blown away by the UH coaching staff. ... They thought there was an opportunity (at UH). They're excited about that."

Kaneshiro profiles Lolohea and Elisara.

"It's going to be good fun playing with him," Lolohea said. "We talked about it and felt it was the best thing for the both of us."

"It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. I made my decision and feel comfortable with it," Elisara said. "You can't beat staying home and having your family there and all the support from the local people."

Kaneshiro also has a quote from recent commit Darius Bright:

Receiver Darius Bright, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, also recently committed to UH. Bright (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) canceled a trip to Oklahoma last week so he could work on enrolling at UH for the spring semester. He consulted with his family in choosing the Warriors.

"I already knew the football was good, but they were talking to me about the academic side of it," said Bright, who is originally from North Carolina.