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Arizona State offers 'unflappable' St. John Bosco freshman quarterback

Koa Malau'ulu is starting for one of the best high school football teams in the country as a freshman

Ben Sherman

Arizona State offered 2028 quarterback Koa Malau'ulu, a freshman at St. John Bosco in Southern California.
Arizona State offered 2028 quarterback Koa Malau'ulu, a freshman at St. John Bosco in Southern California. / Photo by Tarek Fattal, High School on SI
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After a rough Friday night, St. John Bosco class of 2028 quarterback Koa Malau'ulu received some good news on Saturday: a scholarship offer from Arizona State.

Despite throwing two interceptions and fumbling in a 59-14 loss to Mater Dei - the No. 1 high school football team in the country - Malau’ulu showed enough promise to impress Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, who was watching from the sideline.

Malau’ulu passed for 117 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He entered the game with 854 yards passing and 12 touchdowns on the season. More importantly, he had completed 66 percent of his passes and thrown just one interception.

“He’s mature beyond his years,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro told High School on SI's Tarek Fattal earlier this season. “He’s kind of unflappable. Regardless of a bad play, he really doesn’t change his demeanor, and the best thing about Koa is he’s a competitor.”

At 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, Malau’ulu is not done growing. When he is physically mature, watch out.

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.

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