Amos Talalele, 4-star lineman, previews Cal, USC, Washington official visits

Santa Clara High School (California) two-way lineman Amos Talalele has been billed as a Power 5 conference prospect since the early days of his high school career.

Given his 6-foot-5, 330-pound frame, it’s not hard to see why.

Talalele is rated an On3 four-star prospect and holds offers from several programs.

Hoping to gain some clarity on his football future, the California product has set three June official visits: California (June 2), USC (June 17) and Washington (June 24):

Cal is the first stop for Talalele, which is fitting.

The Golden Bears were the first Power 5 conference program to aggressively pursue him.

“I’m really close with them,” Talalele said. "I’m close to literally all of the coaches. We talk every two days. They were the first college to follow me, hit me up - when I was going to my sophomore year. I really appreciate that from them. We grew a good relationship because we’ve been talking so long. I really wanted to give one of my official visits to them because they’ve been here the longest. I have really tight relationship to the players and coaches.”

Next up is a return trip to USC.

The Trojans have been involved in Talalele’s recruitment for some time, but the energy around the program under coach Lincoln Riley could prove to be a game-changer.

“They’re coming really hard for me,” the two-way lineman said. “I’ve talked to Lincoln Riley, (offensive coordinator) Josh Henson, (assistant offensive line coach) Lenny Vandermade and (defensive line coach) Shaun Nua. Every time I get on the phone with them we talk for a really long time about recruiting and why they want me there and what they’re building there. They’re really popping off with Lincoln Riley and all of the coaches. It’s exciting over there. I loved it when I went to visit.”

Washington is the third official visit currently set, and the Huskies have made themselves a serious threat thanks to two factors: they were the second school to recruit Talalele and they have a history developing NFL linemen.

“I got really close with the D-line coach [Inoke Breckterfield],” he said. “I think he could really develop me. I think they could develop me into a 10-year-long NFL player.”

The staff has also made him a priority.

“Washington was the second team to ever reach out to me,” Talalele said "I really like the director of recruiting, Courtney Morgan. He saw something in me that no one did yet. I was getting recruited by Michigan at first, but then he moved to Washington and he said that he took me with him.”

While Talalele intends to take all five official visits, he still doesn’t know the final two trips.

And that choice has grown more complicated since he shared his first three visits to social media.

“I’m getting recruited by a lot of schools,” he said. “After that post, I’m hearing from more schools, like Oregon, the Miami Hurricanes. I had other schools pushing for an official visit, too.”