2017 Skyline (Sammamish, Wa.) OL Henry Bainivalu has plenty of schools to choose from as he heads into an important time in the recruiting process and he told Northwest Elite Index recently that he is in no hurry to make a decision on where he will play his college football.
“It was a good season, but obviously we didn’t finish it like we wanted to,” Bainivalu said of his team’s season. “We had to play a good Gonzaga Prep team and they beat us pretty good, so that just makes it more important that we work hard this offseason so we can get back there and hopefully we can get that title next year.”
At 6’6 and 300 pounds, Bainivalu fits the prototype physically for a prep offensive line prospect and he’s already drawn offers from schools across the country including schools like Michigan and Nebraska among others, but he and his family haven’t become overwhelmed at the process, at least at this point.
“So far, it’s been pretty crazy, but it hasn’t been that overwhelming honestly,” Bainivalu noted. “A lot of that is a credit to my parents. They have done a good job of keeping me focused on football and school and they have screened out a lot of the recruiting stuff, at least the negative stuff, so that I haven’t had to deal with it yet.”
Bainivalu’s suitors have reached double-digits and he’s got a couple more that could get into the mix in the future.
“UCLA is the most recent school to offer me, but that was a little while ago,” Bainivalu said. “Other than the schools that have offered, Notre Dame has been in contact a lot and I’ve started talking with Ohio State pretty recently too.”
His other offers include Washington, Washington State, Utah, Oregon, Cal, Oregon State and USC.
As far as a timeline for when he plans to make a decision, Bainivalu said he’s in no hurry.
“I have a lot of great options, so I don’t want to rush anything,” Bainivalu noted. “There’s no need to be in a hurry. I want to take my time, take all of my visits and then I will make my decision.
“I want that last chance to get a final impression about the schools and the visits are the best way to do that, so I don’t see any reason to decide before I take my visits and that will probably be after my (senior) season.”
While he may not be close to committing to a school, he does know what he’ll be looking for when he does go to make his decision.
“The first thing is the education. That is what matters probably the most,” Bainivalu said. “The second thing is how tight knit the team is. Are the players close to each other? Does it have that family feel? Those are probably the two things I will focus on the most when I go to make my decision.”
NEI will have more from Bainivalu in the coming months as he continues to work his way through the recruiting process.
