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BYU Football Target Cristian Pilimai Updates His Recruitment

Cristian is the younger brother of BYU defensive end Alema Pilimai.
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Over the past few years, BYU has signed multiple sets of brothers. In the early signing period last December, BYU signed John Henry Daley, Dallin Havea, and Kyson Hall - all of which have an older brother in the program or a brother that has signed with BYU. That trend could continue in the upcoming class, BYU is already recruiting brothers like Maika Kaufusi, Micah Wilson, and Cristian Pilimai.

I recently had a chance to catch up with Cristian Pilimai to get an update on his recruitment. Cristian is a class of 2022 athlete out of California and the younger brother of BYU defensive end Alema Pilimai.

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Pilimai holds an early offer from BYU. He also hears from Cal, Northwestern, Army, Fresno State, Stanford, UCLA, Arizona, and Washington. Of those schools, he hears from Northwestern, Army, and Fresno State the most. Listed at 6'5 230 lbs., he could play defensive end, tight end, or tackle at the next level depending on what his body does over the next few years. He tells me that "most schools are recruiting [him] for defensive end, but there are still some that are looking at me as a tight end or a tackle."

Due to COVID-19 restrictions in California, Cristian hasn't played his junior season of high school football. You can check out his sophmore film below:

On what his older brother has told him about BYU, Cristian said, "My brother has expressed many good things about his time at BYU such as the challenging academics and the brotherhood of the team." Alema isn't Cristian's only connection to the program - his Dad grew up with head coach Kalani Sitake.

Cristian pointed out two factors that will be the most important in his decision:

  1. Academics
  2. A coaching staff that can bring out his potential

He also mentioned, "I will always keep a good eye on the schools that saw potential in me early on."

With months to go until he can sign with his school of choice, Cristian does not have a decision timeline. He is a three star recruit according to 247Sports.