Tag: Sione Laulea

SIGNED: 4-star cornerback Sione Laulea is officially a Duck

Sione Laulea, the No. 2 overall junior college recruit in the country, signed his letter of intent for the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday.

The wave of Oregon Duck recruits inking national letters of intent continued on Wednesday with Sione Laulea, a 4-star cornerback in the class of 2024. Laulea is the Ducks’ second highest-rated 2024 CB recruit, and the only junior college recruit so far in this class.

For the last two seasons, Laulea played cornerback at the College of San Mateo, in California. Laulea wanted to stay on the West Coast as he joined the FBS, and chose to Oregon earlier this fall. According to 247 Sports, Laulea is the No. 2 overall player in the JUCO class of 2024 and the No. 1 CB.

Oregon has several talented CBs already on their roster, but it is hard to say which players will be the Ducks’ top corners in 2024. Laulea is one of three 4-star CBs in Oregon’s 2024 class, but his two years of junior college ball give him experience Dakoda Fields and Ify Obidegwu don’t have.

This offseason, the Oregon Ducks are losing star CB Khyree Jackson, who declared for the NFL Draft in early December. Like Laulea, Jackson is a former JUCO player who made the jump to FBS, where he was successful. Hopefully, Laulea can have the same success as he moves to the next level that Jackson did.

Here are some highlights from Laulea:

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BREAKING: Ducks get commitment from Sione Laulea, No. 1 JUCO player in 2024

Ducks get commitment from Sione Laulea, No. 1 JUCO player in 2024

Once again, the Oregon Ducks are adding elite talent to their roster through the junior college ranks, this time getting a commitment from cornerback Sione Laulea, the No. 1 ranked overall player in the 2024 class.

Laulea, a standout for the College of San Mateo, is a long and rangy player, standing at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds. He chose to commit to Dan Lanning and the Ducks over the likes of the Miami Hurricanes and USC Trojans.

Laulea now joins an Oregon class that ranks No. 12 in the nation, and he becomes another member of an elite defensive secondary in the 2024 Ducks’ class. Oregon also has commitments from 4-star S Aaron Flowers (No. 110 in the nation), 4-star CB Dakoda Fields (No. 119 in the nation), and 4-star CB Ify Obidegwu (No. 122 in the nation).

This is not the first time that Lanning and his staff have been able to find talent at the JUCO ranks. A year ago, they signed OT George Silva, the No. 1 OT and No. 4 overall player at the JUCO ranks.

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Penn State misses on No. 1 ranked junior college cornerback

Penn State missed tyhe latest cut of top schools for this top-rated JUCO recruiting target

It’s been a fantastic recruiting year for the Penn State Nittany Lions in the class of 2024. They are currently ranked 10th in the national recruiting rankings according to 247Sports with more potential commitments coming.

The number one junior college transfer [autotag]Sione Laulea[/autotag] had Penn State as one of his top four finalists when he released his list months ago.

Based on the recent success, it was almost shocking that they missed out on one of the top targets on their board after Laulea didn’t include the Nittany Lions in his top three.

USC, Oregon and Miami are the schools still in the running for the 6’4″ 185 pound cornerback from the College of San Mateo in California. His original plan has been to commit to a school in early October, sign in December and enroll in January as part of the class of 2024.

Now rated as a four-star prospect, he will be a good prospect for any of the three schools left on his list to land. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Oregon a massive edge to land him with an 83.6% chance.

While Laulea was at the top of Penn State’s uncommitted recruiting board, the need to sign him wasn’t overtly necessary. The Nittany Lions currently have three cornerbacks committed to them in their 2024 class. One prospect is a four-star recruit and two are three-stars.

Even while missing out on the talented cornerback prospect, there are still other targets that Penn State is looking to land as they put the finishing touches on their successful 2024 recruiting campaign.

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Ducks among top three schools for No. 1 JUCO player in nation

The Ducks are among the top schools for CB Sione Laulea, the No. 1 rated JUCO player in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks have had a long history of finding success by bringing junior college players into the Power 5. Whether it was Jeremiah Masoli or LeGarrette Blount, a number of JUCO players have found a way to thrive in Eugene after making the leap.

It appears the Ducks are once again trying to go this route to find an elite player, this time cornerback Sione Laulea.

Earlier this week, Laulea announced via his Instagram that he is down to three schools — the USC Trojans, Miami Hurricanes, and Oregon Ducks. Laulea is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 overall player in the 2024 class at the JUCO rank.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwN_zhDvGVJ/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D

Oregon currently has CB commitments from both Ify Obidegwu and Dakoda Fields, but they would welcome the addition of Laulea to the room as well. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Ducks currently are the heavy favorites to land a commitment, sitting at 83.6% likelihood.

No date has been set for his commitment just yet, but we will hope to hear good news about Laulea in the future.

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Penn State in Top 5 of 4-star JUCO cornerback

Penn State is in the top five of talented four-star junior college cornerback in the class of 2024

Penn State continues to try and add to its top 10 recruiting class for 2024.

At the start of August, the Nittany Lions rank fifth in the nation and third in the Big Ten, marking one of their best classes ever under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

The class could get another boost if they’re able to land four-star junior college cornerback [autotag]Sione Laulea[/autotag].

Laulea is a 6’4″ 180-pound cornerback from the state of California. He originally was part of the 2022 class in high school rated as a three-star before enrolling at the College of San Mateo. After spending two years there, he’s looking to make the jump into Division 1 football.

247Sports has him ranked as the number one class of 2024 JUCO player in the country.

The talented cornerback recently put out his top five schools list after taking his most recent visit to State College. On his list is Penn State, Oregon, Miami, Oklahoma and USC.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvYFHV3Sgvs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

Laulea has taken two visits to Penn State, one official back in early June and his most recent unofficial visit July 29.

On3 gives him a four-star rating as a prospect coming out of his JUCO years at San Mateo. If the Nittany Lions are able to land him, he would be their fourth four-star defensive back of the class and second four-star cornerback.

It’s believed that the biggest competition for Penn State in his recruitment will be Miami and Oregon.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Ducks a huge 83.6% chance to land the west coast native. Miami is second with 5.7% and Penn State is third with 4.0%.

However when speaking with Sean Fitz of BlueWhiteIllustrated, Laulea mentioned his mom enjoyed their visit to Penn State saying, “She loved it. All of the people, the environment, the academics that she sat through. She overall just trusted the community.”

The continued recruitment of the talented four-star JUCO corner will definitely be something to keep an eye on.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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Penn State makes top five for No. 1 JUCO recruit, CB Sione Laulea

Penn State makes the top five cut for the nation’s top JUCO transfer target in 2024.

Penn State has had some good success with its junior college transfers over the years. The Nittany Lions are hoping that continues with cornerback [autotag]Sione Laulea[/autotag].

Laulea is the nation’s top-ranked JUCO recruit in the Class of 2024 according to 247Sports, and he has Penn State in his top five. Laulea posted his top five schools on his Instagram account on Monday. In addition to Penn State, Laulea is also considering Oklahoma, Oregon, Miami, and USC.

Laulea really took advantage of his time at College of San Mateo. After picking up just one FCS offer out of high school, Mateo has soared up the JUCO rankings in the Class of 2024 and now has five Power 5 programs on his radar as he approaches a decision.

Laulea had 15 tackles and one interception as a freshman for College of San Mateo last season with appearances in 10 games as San Mateo cruised its way to a California Community College Athletic Association football championship, capped by a 55-0 victory over top-ranked Riverside City College.

Laulea has made two trips to Penn State’s campus, one as an official visit in June and one more this past weekend as an unofficial visit. But don’t expect Laulea to be announcing his decision any time too soon. According to a report from 247Sports, Laulea believes he will be announcing his decision sometime in October, and he will plan to sign with his chosen school in December so he can enroll in January.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvYFHV3Sgvs/

Penn State currently has three cornerback commitments in the Class of 2024 with Jon Mitchell, Kenneth Woseley, and Antoine Belgrave-Shorter.

Penn State extended a scholarship offer to Laulea in May.

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