Texas DT target Austin Faoliu decommits from Arizona

Five days after picking up an offer from the Texas Longhorns, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei defensive tackle Austin Faoliu decommitted from the Arizona Wildcats in an announcement posted on Twitter:

The 6’3, 285-pounder committed to Arizona in late September. He now holds offers from Baylor, Illinois, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, TCU, Virginia, and Washington State.

Since most of those offers have come recently, there’s a chance of getting the California native on campus this month, but Texas faces a lot of competition to do so, especially since Faoliu has official visits set to Oklahoma on January 13 and Ole Miss on January 27.

That leaves only one other weekend prior to National Signing Day, though Faoliu could also take a midweek visit to Austin if he decides to seriously consider the Longhorns.

A consensus low three-star prospect, Faoliu is ranked as the No. 1,371 player nationally, the No. 82 defensive tackle, and the No. 127 player in California, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Expect Faoliu to take a leap in those rankings on the next update in light of his recent offers and strong senior season. Many of the clips from those highlights look the same — Faoliu comes out of his stance and fires his hands, knocking back the offensive lineman, then disengaging to stop the running play.

He’s not a guy who is always looking to shoot gaps or bull rush his opponent. Instead, he first controls his opponent to diagnose the play, then separates once the ball carrier gets in his area to make the stop.

HIs work with his hands is probably his most impressive quality, but he also has enough athleticism to chase down plays along the line of scrimmage.

Texas does not hold any pledges from defensive tackles in the 2017 recruiting class.