When the Jayhawks made their recruiting pitch to Tavake Tuikolovatu they wanted him for offense, and they relied on a past connection from a former player.

Tuikolovatu signed with the Jayhawks on Christmas Eve shortly after his official the previous weekend. At one point it looked like he might be headed to the University of Arizona, who liked him as a defensive lineman.

“I was blessed with the opportunity of playing defense and offense,” Tuikolovatu said. “I always wanted to play defense when I first started playing football, but I was good on offense. So, coming into Kansas I wasn't looking at it like that. I didn't start out thinking about going to Kansas as an offensive lineman.”

On the visit he met Kansas offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa, he realized he wanted to play offensive line for the Jayhawks. As a redshirt freshman for UCLA he played in all 12 games with a start against Minnesota.

“As I came on the visit I talked to the O-line coach, Coach Daryl, and I kind of just went over things and getting to know him,” Tuikolovatu said. “He really just showed me how their offense works, and I kind of saw myself playing there as an offensive lineman.

“After him going over that, it kind of sparked interest in me reaching my own perspective on me playing offense.”

Tuikolovatu began his high school football career in Hawaii before moving to California. He was mentored by former Kansas defensive lineman Chris Maumalanga.

Maumalanga was a starting defensive lineman for the Jayhawks on arguably the greatest defensive line in KU history. He went on to make NFL rosters seven years after playing at Kansas. Maumalanga has mentored several college players, and some went on to NFL careers.

“He's definitely he got a rare combination of humility and nastiness,” Maumalanga said of Tuikolovatu. “Usually when you're humble like he is, you're kind of afraid to hurt people or afraid to get after it. But Tavake has that rare characteristic of being a humble kid, son of a preacher, but nasty on the field.”

He believes Tuikolovatu has the ability to play at the next level.

“I mean, talent wise, he's a Sunday guy,” Maumalanga said. “But he'll get an opportunity to contribute at KU as a Saturday guy first and get developed by Coach A, and be a part of the culture of Lance Leipold, which I love. I haven't met Lance yet, but I love the culture he's building.”

Agpalsa had a connection with Tuikolovatu because he also grew up and went to high school in Hawaii. There was something in common between them. He said he wanted to spend the holidays with his family and get ready to report next week at Kansas.

“It feels good to be done,” Tuikolovatu said. “The whole recruiting thing is a whole is a slow process, but now that I got it all over and I'm with Kansas now, I feel good. I feel positive and confident in making the decision. I do look forward to going to Kansas and getting to work.”