WATCH: One on one with Arizona OL commit Rhino Tapaatoutai
Arizona offensive line commit Siaosi "Rhino" Tapaatoutai chats with us about his senior season, the Wildcats and more.
Rhino Tapaatoutai 2023 Defensive Tackle Arizona
Rhino Tapaatoutai - 3 Star Defensive tackle for Arizona on GOAZCATS
Rhino Tapaatoutai was one of Arizona's earliest commitments in the 2023 class, and now he is one game away from finishing up his senior season. It hasn't gone as he would have hoped for his team, but the two-way lineman from Alemany High School in the Los Angeles area is keeping his spirits up as his high school career comes to a close. I was out at his game Friday night and you wouldn't have guessed that he was playing one of his final high school games. Alemany lost, but Tapaatoutai played hard and with a high level of energy throughout the night. He was just as effective defensively as he was on offense, but it's clear to see what the UA coaches like him at offensive tackle. He put a lot of defenders into the ground Friday night and overall performed well on that side of the ball.
Brennan Carroll stopped by Alemany during the bye week, and the relationship Tapaatoutai has with the Arizona offensive coordinator and offensive line coach has continued to grow strong. They have similar personalities in a lot of ways, so it could work very well when Tapaatoutai arrives in Tucson. As Jedd Fisch mentioned last week, most of the incoming recruits will arrive at the midyear point. Tapaatoutai is part of that group as he is set to enroll at Arizona in January meaning he will get to participate in spring ball.
He is set to take an official visit to Arizona in December before signing, but other programs are still trying to make a push. Louisville recently offered him, and Tapaatoutai is open to listening to the pitches from other schools. Still, he says Arizona is where he is committed and right now he doesn't have plans to change that.
You can watch the full interview with some game clips above.
