Student-athletes all have their own stories when it comes to their recruitment. None might be as unique as 2025 Layton (UT) Christian Academy defensive tackle Jobe Tuafale.

RedRaiderSports.com caught up with the junior defensive lineman as he continues to master his craft in the states.

What you need to know…

… Texas Tech offered Tuafale on Jan. 30 and was his first Division-I offer.

… Tuafale is scheduled to visit Texas Tech June 14-16.

… Tuafale is originally from Australia and made his way to the United States through Gridiron Australia’s ‘The Search’ program.

… Tuafale played in nine games his junior season, totaling 36 tackles and two sacks, per his MaxPreps page

Getting an offer from Texas Tech: “Shocking, really. Coming from another country I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. It’s just been truly a blessing for me. Came here to try and see where football gets me in life. Right now it’s going well. Loving it, loving the vibe of football… There was no communication towards me. It was just my head coach told me that the Texas Tech coach was coming to my school. As he came, he offered me right on the spot. His name was coach (C.J.) Ah You. He came to my school and said he was talking to the coaches back in Texas and they said they wanted to offer me.”

Process of coming from Australia: “It’s just a blessing. For me, I didn’t think my talent could get me this far into the sport. I guess God had other plans for me. Just really grateful being a kid from another country. I was a part of a program, I was picked up by my head coach (Ray Stowers) to make my dream and my goal come true. I first started as a way to keep myself active, just because I wasn’t really playing a sport at the time. I was playing rugby, but took some time away from that because rugby wasn’t really my interest anymore. I came into football as a new sport to try and keep myself active and started taking it seriously when I’d seen the opportunities I could have.”