Havili still has 'no idea' which school he'll choose

After literally thousands of letters, phone calls and personal visits, Stanley Havili will make a decision.

The all-state running back from Cottonwood High is one of the most-sought-after high school football players in the country and will announce today which school he'll carry the ball for as a college player.

But even Havili himself might not know which team he'll play for until he opens his mouth to make his intentions known.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Havili said Friday when asked which school he was leaning toward. "It's not an easy decision."

Havili's list of suitors appears to have been whittled down to three schools, his high school coach said, with one big-time Plan B also still in the mix. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder canceled a recruiting visit to Oregon this weekend.

The schools, in no particular order, that are still at the top of Havili's list are Arizona State, BYU and Iowa. Southern Cal appears to have dropped to fourth in the race after Trojans coach Pete Carroll told Havili USC would not guarantee a scholarship would be waiting for him if he chooses to serve an LDS Church mission.

"I don't know for sure if he'll go on a mission," Cottonwood coach Tom Jones said. "But it's something he has said he wants to do, and he wants to have that option when it's time to decide."

Still, the Trojans aren't giving up on Havili.

"I got 10 calls from (USC assistant coach and former BYU quarterback Steve) Sarkisian today," Havili said just before his basketball game Friday. "I got calls from Oregon, Iowa and BYU. But I didn't talk to anybody."

Though Havili will make a commitment today, he won't be able to officially join a program until Feb. 1 on national letter of intent signing day.

Jones said he's been kept in the dark if Havili has made a decision.

"He hasn't given me any real hints," Jones said. "But I know BYU and Arizona State are both schools he's giving a lot of thought to."

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was in Salt Lake City last weekend making a personal sales pitch to the Havili family. His name is being floated around with almost every NFL coaching vacancy, however, and that uncertainty may lead Havili to chose BYU, Arizona State or, perhaps, USC.

"They're all calling me every day," Havili said, "because they know I'm going to decide (today). I'm still not sure where I'll go, but I'll be glad when it's over."

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E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com