Star LDS class of '02 trying to live up to hype

Many have labeled the Class of 2002 the best group of LDS high school football players ever.

The group included mammoth linemen and a poster boy quarterback, an elite bunch that recruiting experts elevated to lofty perches as colleges scrambled for their services.

Where are they now and what have they done?

"I do think about that recruiting class sometimes," said BYU senior offensive lineman Jake Kuresa, who was courted by USC and Oregon along with Nebraska, Notre Dame, Washington, Texas A&M, Arizona, Arizona State and Georgia Tech.

An Outland Trophy candidate, Kuresa has played more college football games than any in that group. This bunch included Oregon's Haloti Ngata, a Highland High star now with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens; Florida offensive lineman Ryan Carter, now a Tampa businessman; California quarterback Ben Olson, recovering from a knee injury at UCLA; and Tennessee defensive lineman J.T. Mapu, who has Volunteer coaches and fans wondering when he'll get his mission legs back.

Kuresa often jokes with teammate Daniel Coats about where they came from, what's happened and how they were once considered among the high school elite. Coats, although not LDS, was a Northridge High star who was also on many top prep lists in 2002.

Kuresa, who redshirted his first year at BYU, has started 45 games for the Cougars in his career.

"Sometimes Dan and I will say 'best recruiting class ever,' because that year at BYU, they signed me, Dan, Curtis Brown, Fui Vakapuna, Ben Olson and Rey Brathwaite. It's fun to see Haloti and what he's doing. He and I were being recruited by the same people. I remember people saying they needed to know what I was deciding so they could go on to Haloti."

The Cougar senior said it is fun to see people his age move on to the next level.

"It's a dream and it's fun to see how successful they've become," Kuresa said. "It may have been the best LDS recruiting class ever and it will probably be some time before you see five or six LDS athletes who are top 20."

Back in 2001, Kuresa said if BYU hadn't won 12 games, he doesn't think he, Olson or Coats would have come to BYU. "Obviously it didn't work out for Ben here, but for Dan and I, we're now on a roll, playing for a ranked team that's won a championship."

Carter was all-state as a junior and senior at South Lake High in Groveland, Fla., where Rivals.com listed him as the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country.