Staying with Mids not hard choice for Tuani
As a standout defensive end at the Naval Academy, Jabaree Tuani had a decision to make before the start of his junior year — stay or go.
When an athlete has success early in his career at a service academy, he can be the target of recruiters. In Annapolis, Midshipmen can leave without penalty in their first two years.
“I thought about it early in the summer, talked with my parents about it, discussed my future overall,” Tuani said. “For me to even think about leaving this school, leaving my brothers on the team, was very hard. I leaned on them. After a while, the decision came really easy.”
Recruiting players from other colleges is against NCAA rules. But coaches have their ways of making their interest known.
“Coaches had me on Facebook and what not,” said Tuani, who has 96 tackles — including 14.5 for a loss — five sacks and five forced fumbles in his career.
With the graduation of linebacker Ross Pospisil, Tuani takes on a leadership role this season. No problem there. At Brentwood (Tenn.) High, he was the first black class president in school history.
“I think there were three African-American males in my senior class,” Tuani said. “It was a small school. I knew everybody. I felt like I could hang out with anybody.”
What college coaches didn’t realize about Tuani was that he could play with anybody. The sticking point was his height. He is listed at 6-foot-1 — short for a Division I defensive end.
Tuani was all-state for two seasons, leading Brentwood to a D-II state championship in his junior year. But coaches were more interested in Brentwood linemen Mike Berry and A.J. Greene, both at Auburn, and Chris Jordan, a linebacker at Alabama.
“There’s a lot of people now who wish they had given him the chance,” Navy defensive line coach Dale Pehrson said. “It took me three plays on his tape to have [offensive line assistant] coach [Ashley] Ingram call him and offer him.”
At Navy, Tuani seized the opportunity to start as a freshman when Michael Walsh was injured. He was the first plebe in 10 years to start at defensive end.
“We figured he was good,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We didn’t realize he was this good.”
Which makes the Midshipmen glad he remained in Annapolis.
“I felt like this was the place for me, even [aside from] football,” Tuani said.
