Aleva Hifo Looking Forward to becoming a Cougar
Provo, UT – For the past week, since the recruiting dead period ended, BYU's staff has been hard at work bringing the best potential talent to Provo. One player that has flown under the radar due to his firm commitment to the Cougars is Heritage High (Menifee, CA) Defensive Back, Aleva Hifo.
Hifo is a dynamic athlete who has put together an extensive highlight reel on offense, defense, and special teams. Listed as a cornerback, BYU’s new coaching staff has left his future role at BYU open.
"The coaches have said that there may be a decision on where to play me since I can play both side and return kicks and punts. I'm just excited to play wherever they want me."
Growing up in Provo, Hifo was very familiar with BYU and gave a verbal commitment to BYU's previous staff in February of 2015, two days after he received an offer.
"When I got on campus and saw the facilities, and learned about what kind of school BYU was I knew it was the place for me. I like the LDS environment and how the mission of the school is about more than football. I saw what they did for the kids [like Thursday's Heroes] and I look forward to the opportunities that will come afterward once I get my degree."
Hifo also added, "One of the most important things to me is definitely strengthening my relationship with my Heavenly Father which I can do at BYU unlike any other college."
BYU is about to begin a new era under Kalani Sitake and with much of the staff in place; one notable vacancy is in the secondary. Noting that there was a vacancy, Hifo mentioned he wasn't concerned about his relationship with his future position coach, he said, "I'm not worried about who the secondary coach is going to be because I know that whoever it is, he'll be right for BYU."
Coach Sitake and Coach Tuiaki have spoken with Aleva several times throughout the transition and have established a relationship of trust that is key during the recruiting process. While he has built a strong relationship with them, he was very close with former BYU Defensive Coordinator, Nick Howell.
"It was hard when the coaches left, I had built a relationship with them for two years. [Coach Howell] was my primary recruiter and he would've been my DB coach as well," said Hifo, "Coach Howell wasn't just a recruiter to me. He'd talk to me just like he was another guy, and he was almost like he was a father to me. He'd call me and ask about my family and see how things were going in school."
While player-coach relationships are important in bringing a recruit in swaying a recruit to join a program, relationships between recruits and current players could be considered just as important. One player that Aleva is particularly close with is his cousin, linebacker Sione Takitaki. Hifo mentioned that Takitaki was working on becoming eligible and remaining eligible for the 2016 season. Hifo feels that he and Takitaki can be a support system for each other.
One important support system for players is the fan base. Hifo said that during his recruitment to BYU the support and encouragement from Cougar Nation has been strong.
"When I was first offered and first committed, there were a lot of fans that reached out to me and said that they were excited for me to spend the next four years at BYU."
Hifo will be taking his Official Visit to BYU on the weekend of January 29th. He's looking forward to spending time in Provo with his future teammates. He is expected to sign his NLI the following Wednesday, February 3rd.
After signing day, Hifo will graduate in May and plans to enroll at BYU in either June or July so he can workout with the team and participate in summer conditioning in preparation for fall camp.
Get familiar with Aleva and check out his highlights.
Zak Hicken is a staff writer for CougarNation.com and a BYU reporter for ESPN960. Follow Zak on Twitter: @zakhicken.
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