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BYU football added a seventh commitment to its 2016 class Thursday when multi-position athlete Freddy Livai of Fontana, Cali. committed to the Cougars.
Livai is a 6-foot-2, 250 pound player who played both offense and defense for A.B. Miller High School. While he has played tight end and fullback, much of his attention has been garnered as a defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid. He also held offers to Oregon State, Colorado, and Weber State.
Just one week ago, his high school coach Justin Nast told Rivals he didn't expect Livai to commit anywhere soon as his recruitment was about to really heat up, but it seems the offer from Bronco Mendenhall may have been the one Livai was waiting for.
Interestingly, BYU was listed nowhere on that Rivals article, but he comes with high praise from his coach:
@TotalBlueSports @FreddyLivai unbelievable athlete. Incredible person. The Cougars got one heck of an individual. #veryproudcoach
— Justin Nast (@CoachNast) May 22, 2015
In addition, Nast had this to say in the Rivals article:
"He has exceeded my expectations as his high school coach ... He is such a hybrid and he has just blown up in the weight room," Nast said. "He is benching 355 [pounds], squatting 495, power cleaning 295 and his forty time is still a 4.57. He is a really lean 250, too. His brother is I want to say 6-foot-7 and his dad is 6-foot-9 so he is still going to grow and get bigger. He hasn't even filled out yet."
Watching Livai's highlight video, you can see where the interest lies. He looks like a strong, physical player who also possesses speed off the edge. Here you can see him playing traditional defensive end, stand-up defensive end, and outside and inside linebacker:
Stay up to date with BYU football recruiting with the 2016 recruiting big board and map.