Mo Latu
August 26, 2010 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
There's no hiding Mo Latu.
During team pictures recently Perry High's two-way lineman was positioned in the back row center. Seated amidst 40 or so other teammates that would serve to obscure him.
Yet Latu is not engulfed. At 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, the senior sticks out like a sore thumb with extra wide shoulders making it impossible to hide him.
"He's a unique specimen," Perry football coach Preston Jones said. "He's big, strong and very athletic. I''ve never coached a kid that moves as well as he does for his size. He's as good an athlete or better than some of our skill kids. He's special."
Latu, who will start at center on offense and show up somewhere every Friday on the Pumas' defensive line, is engaging. He's serious with a tinge of fun-loving spirit in the words he politely speaks. Especially if you bring up the notion of playing quarterback. Perry opens the 2010 season at home Friday night against Casa Grande.
"I'd play it in a hearbeat," Latu said. "I'd love to do it. But I know where I'll be. I'm comfortable at center. I still hold out hope I'll get a chance one game to play quarterback."
If that does happen, it will be a one-play shot. Several Thursdays at practice last season, Latu got to take a snap or two from center. It's because he throws a pretty good ball. It can travel 60 or 70 yards, according to Jones, although the play would be a Hail-Mary situation.
"We tease him with it," Jone said " He can throw it a long way."
No doubt Latu's calling card is his athletic body that lends itself to manning the trenches. He has cousins in the NFL both past and present (Vai Sikahema, Phoenix Cardinals Deuce Lutui, Arizona Cardinals). Both attended Mesa High.
Colleges are in pursuit if Latu, many of them major programs. He'll spend the fall working to keep his grades in check to make that a reality.
"I need to stay with it and improve my SAT scores a little and I should be OK," Latu said. "I want to play at the next level."
Missouri is hot after Latu. Oregon is willing to wait until the end of next spring if need be. Latu hopes all will work out so he can follow in his older brother, Nuku's footsteps. Nuku Latu is currently a defensive tackle at Colorado State.
"I've coached both of them, Nuku when he and I were at Highlandm Jones said. "They are good athletes, but Mo is really special. Their mom really liked our program at Highland and she brought Mo over as a freshman to play here. He's been here all four years. He'll be one of the first group of four-year kids we've had at Perry. He sets a standard for our program in how he works and interacts not only with the team, but the school in general. He's well-liked by everyone on campus."
The 2010 season will be Latu's third at the varsity level. A knee injury stymied his freshman campaign. The Pumas played an independent schedule in 2008 and competed in the independent playoffs reaching the finals. Last year they stepped up to 5A-II and qualified for postseason where they predictably bowed to eventual state champion Chaparral. Latu wants to help make sure the program stays on track in his final shot in the prep ranks.
"I think people look down on Perry because we're new and the way the other schools in the district (Hamilton, Chandler and Basha) have done," Latu said. "We're getting better every year, and we have to keep that going. I'm glad I'm playing here."
