The BYU football team picked up another missionary recruit Thursday when a former UNLV running back committed to play for the Cougars in 2009. The commitment came just days following a controversial commitment of former Utah State quarterback Riley Nelson for the 2010 season.

Scout.com announced Thursday running back Malosi Te'o has committed to BYU upon the completion of his missionary service in New York. The 5-foot-11-inch Te'o from Kahuku High School in Hawaii originally signed with MWC-rival UNLV before departing for the mission field. Te'o plans to enroll at BYU in time for the 2008 season, alongside cousin and safety Shilaoah Te'o.

According to the scouting Web site, Te'o's father, Ephraim Te'o, has already informed the UNLV coaching staff that his son will accept BYU's scholarship offer.

"You know, BYU was always his first choice," Ephraim Te'o told Scout.com. "He signed with UNLV right out of high school and I'll always be grateful for UNLV for that. From the very beginning, Malosi knew where he wanted to go to college, but in the end it all came down to which college was going to pay for his education. He's always had a soft spot in his heart for BYU."

Eighteen months into his mission, Te'o received notice of a BYU scholarship waiting for him when he came home. BYU coaches wanted someone who could "find the holes, shake, then break away," according to Ephraim Te'o. The coaching staff apparently thought Te'o would fit well into that role after the Te'o family sent an e-mail to the BYU football staff, which included an Internet link to a Kahuku High School highlight video from the state playoffs a year earlier.

Ephraim Te'o was adamant about his response when asked if BYU initiated contact with the former UNLV signee.

"Make no mistake about it," Ephraim Te'o told the Deseret News. "They didn't come out and talk about it to us. We sent an innocent e-mail to them first and never expected a response at all. Now that this has happened, we feel very blessed he received an offer."

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, in a media conference response about transfer players who signed elsewhere before coming to BYU, defended the institution's recruitment integrity.

"I think they [the transfer recruits] see the program moving in the right direction," Mendenhall said. "I think they see standards that are being enforced on a daily basis. I think they see a chance to represent what they believe, not only on the football field, but how they live and do it at a place that makes a different kind of statement than they would make - I won't mention the other schools - but where they were.

"As they came to us, they came of their own regard. We will not recruit players while they are on their missions. That's not our policy. But when they do contact us, we'll certainly listen."



Copyright Brigham Young University 2 Jun 2008