SAN MATEO, Calif. — 11 student-athletes signed their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday morning at Serra’s Morton Family Gymnasium, highlighted by football standouts Terence Loville and Nusi Malani announcing their commitments.
Loville, who had 1,061 receiving yards in his senior season, will be joining a pass-heavy attack at nearby San Jose State, while Malani, a standout defensive end who had four sacks, will be heading to the other side of the country to play and study at the University of Virginia.
“I just loved the school,” said Malani, who made his choice over Arizona and Washington State. “It’s a little old-fashioned. I like that. I had a good connection with the Poly coaches that came from BYU.”
The Polynesian connection is a core element of not only Malani’s life but of the entire Serra football program. He wore a traditional Tongan skirt for the ceremony, which he also wore as part of the program’s Polynesian Day celebrations during the pregame festivities before a win over Valley Christian.
“I really got to connect with all of them on my official visit,” said Malani, who highlighted his connection with linebacker Wayne Taulapapa and defensive line coach Vic So’oto.
While Malani made his decision by picking the blue and orange hat off the table, Loville hid his SJSU sweatshirt under his jacket, though head coach Patrick Walsh, a Spartan alum himself, let the word slip while introducing his top receiver, who also had an offer from Air Force.
“When the chips were down and the game was on the line, the ball was going to Terence,” Walsh said.
Loville made dramatic plays to lead valiant comeback bids against St. Ignatius and in the state championship game against Corona del Mar, and he was at the center of Serra’s NorCal championship win over San Joaquin Memorial with another dramatic catch on third down and a key pick-six. While he lined up on both sides of the ball for the Padres, dramatically improving his defensive skillset as a senior, he’ll be strictly a receiver at San Jose State.
The Spartans had an incredible aerial attack as they improved from 1-11 to 5-7 in 2019, and while they’ll graduate quarterback Josh Love, who threw for 3,923 yards and was named Mountain West Player of the Year, they’ll welcome in graduate transfer Nick Starkel from Arkansas to join dual-threat Nick Nash and Alec Trujillo.
Loville will be able to learn from one of the best in Tre Walker, who had 79 catches for 1,161 yards as a junior, and he’ll be a year behind a loaded class of receivers that includes Elk Grove native Andre Crump and a pair of Southern California talents in Isaiah Hamilton and Isaiah Holiness. An afterthought in the football world for years, the Spartans made waves by knocking off Arkansas and Army in 2019 while playing exciting, high-scoring games fueled by their passing game while wowing further recruits with an energetic coaching staff and showcasing their location in the Silicon Valley.
“Even before the visit, I had a really good relationship with (Fred Guidici),” Loville said. “When I went on the visit, we were talking the whole time about life after school, football, everything. I’m really excited to just get in and work as soon as I get on campus, and hopefully I can play my freshman year.”
Three other football players also signed their letters of intent. Quarterback Daylin McLemore, who sat behind Luke Bottari on the depth chart for two years and made nine starts in an injury-riddled senior season, is headed to Arizona State, where his sister, Mailey, plays softball.
“It’ll be a similar situation,” McLemore said of his future in Tempe. “I’ll sit behind Jayden Daniels for about two years and learn from him, and then I’ll get my shot.”
Walsh, who often refers to coach-speak mantras of never overlooking opponents, didn’t hold back at all in his praise for McLemore.
“He’s gonna lead ASU to Pac-12 championships,” Walsh proudly boasted to the hundreds of students, faculty and family members in attendance. “You can quote me on that.”
He won’t be the only one going to the Pac-12, with defensive back Jackson Lataimua heading up to Washington State to join a program that has tons of Bay Area ties. Menlo-Atherton’s Justin Anderson will be joining him in the secondary in Pullman, and Marin Catholic alum Nick Rolovich was named head coach on Jan. 13 after Mike Leach left for Mississippi State.
“He came in and it felt like home as soon as he started talking to me,” Lataimua said of Rolovich. “Really chill guy, really mellow voice. He’s real. He’s really honest and has the same mentality as Coach Walsh. You want to play, you have to work hard.”
Just eight miles away across the state line at Idaho will be offensive lineman Nate Azzopardi, a fiery left tackle.
“I’ve been saying I’m going to go on his side and blitz on purpose,” Lataimua said.
Azzopardi’s Vandals will play at Washington State in both 2020 and 2022, and in the Big Sky Conference, he’ll have a chance to compete against some familiar faces from the West Catholic Athletic League. St. Ignatius’ Teddye Buchanan and Valley Christian’s Kavir Bains will both be joining the defense at conference foe UC Davis.
“He plays not for himself but for everybody else,” Walsh said of Azzopardi.
Three baseball players also signed on Wednesday, with left-handed pitcher Drew Dowd inking his commitment to Stanford. Catcher Mitchell Nabeta is headed to Puget Sound and shortstop Tyler Shaw will be at Claremont-McKenna. Mike Smoot will also be in Southern California, playing water polo at Whittier, while Alec Desuasido, a sprinter and jumper on the Serra track team, will head to Chapman. Shane Ivich, a midfielder on the Padre soccer team, will be joining Nabeta at Puget Sound.
