UCLA Football Offers Class of 2025 Defensive Back Matai Tagoa'i

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One of Nevada's top recruits is officially on the Bruins' radar.
Class of 2025 safety Matai Tagoa'i has earned an offer from UCLA football, the defensive back announced Friday on Twitter. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound prospect out of Faith Lutheran (NV) now has 18 FBS offers as his sophomore year comes to a close.
Tagoa'i has additional offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, UCF, UNLV, USC, Utah and Washington.
Thank You God ! Truly honored & blessed to say that after a great conversation today w legendary Coach Ken Norton Jr. I have EARNED an Official Offer to @UCLAFootball ! #GoBruins🐻@wstagoai @FL_Ftball @BGR8_ISI @bgr8_recruits @BrandonHuffman @BlairAngulo pic.twitter.com/b67Ywx7nHh
— Matai William Kose Tagoa’i (@MataiTagoai_) May 19, 2023
Tagoa'i took a gameday visit to USC in November, but he didn't start documenting unofficial visits until the winter. After going to UNLV in January, Tagoa'i went to Oklahoma, Arizona State, Arizona and UCF between late March and mid-April.
Last fall, Tagoa'i racked up 73 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, nine pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and an interception. That production helped Tagoa'i make the 2022 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada First Team.
On the other side of the ball, Tagoa'i caught seven passes for 103 yards.
Tagoa'i is a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals and On3. In the 247Sports Composite, Tagoa'i is ranked as the No. 3 player in Nevada, the No. 11 safety in the country and the No. 151 overall prospect in his class.
Among defensive players in Nevada, Tagoa'i ranks No. 1. He is the No. 2 safety who goes to high school west of the Mississippi River.
Tagoa'i is the only top-four player in his state who doesn't go to Bishop Gorman (NV). Faith Lutheran did just send a player to the pros, though, with the Buffalo Bills taking Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in April.
UCLA has now offered 11 players in the class of 2025, all of whom remain uncommitted. Seven of those prospects are from California, and now Nevada is the only other state the Bruins have gone to with multiple offers so far.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MATAI TAGOA'I/INSTAGRAM

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.
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