Lipe Moala Talks Oregon Commitment, What's Next

The Ducks added a big body at a position of need last week as the race for the Pac-12's top class heats up.

Oregon's 2023 recruiting class is on the rise after landing Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive lineman Lipe Moala last week. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Southern California native spoke with Ducks Digest about why he committed to the Ducks and what went into his recruitment.

"I was talking to the coaches and they just seemed like the greatest option to make me grow as a player and as a person," Moala said of his decision.

Moala was able to connect with a lot of members on the Oregon staff but connected the most with two people in particular.

"There's a recruiter named JR (Moala) and the offensive line coach, Coach (Adrian) Klemm."

Getting recruited by your uncle is a unique experience that not many players have, but it certainly gave the Ducks a leg up in his recruitment.

"It just made the choice easier because I know I have family out there," he said of JR Moala's role in his recruitment. "He helped influence it a lot."

READ MORE: Recruiting visitor list for Oregon vs. UCLA

Oregon's newest commit also hit it off with Adrian Klemm during his unofficial visit to Eugene earlier this month.

"When I went out there me and him had a long talk and he was just telling me about his story, about his past and how he got into coaching," Moala said. "The way he explained it just seemed very real to me."

Many seniors had made commitments prior to football season, but Moala felt like the time was right shortly after the Ducks officially offered.

"I got offered during the trip. Right when I got there I had a meeting with Coach Lanning and he offered me," he recalled.

"I talked it over with my parents and we prayed about it," he said. "We continued to talk to Klemm and JR about it and it just seemed at the right time to make the decision."

He's no stranger to the Ducks, and that's due in large part to his relation to one of the program's all-time greats.

"I had an uncle who went to Oregon. Seeing him go through there and succeed the way he did. It helped. It was Haloti Ngata."

READ MORE: LB Dylan Williams calls Oregon a top school after USC decommitment 

Despite a strong family connection to the Ducks, Moala actually grew up rooting for another Pac-12 school.

"Honestly my family--we've always been USC fans and Oregon was always second. JR got there--that became the one when JR went there."

The towering offensive lineman had offers from a handful of other Pac-12 schools like Utah and Washington, so what made Oregon's approach different?

"They kept contacting me constantly. They were constantly calling, texting," he said. "They were just seeing what was going on and that meant a lot."

Now that he has his decision wrapped up, he can breathe easy and get excited about the future.

"I feel like a certain weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Moala said. "I can just focus on improving myself until I get to Oregon and just focus on winning the season."

He could be getting to Oregon sooner rather than later, but sounds locked in with his commitment.

"I think I'm probably gonna sign early but I have to pray about going early. I'm not sure about enrolling early yet."

Moala's commitment to Oregon strengthens the school's pipeline to Mater Dei. Now he'll turn into a peer recruiter and has some players from the nation's No. 1 school he'd like bring with him to Eugene.

"I'd say (OL) Brandon Baker or (OL) DeAndre Carter. Also my younger cousin (DL) Kaho Tuihalamaka."

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