Tua's, Sapolu's families to provide financial advice to parents

May 26—In recent years, college football recruiting has become more complicated.

Diane Tagovailoa, the mother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua, and Lisa Sapolu, whose husband, Jesse, won four Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers, are offering to serve as navigators for parents and guardians of high school football players.

As part of the June 8 GPA Football Showcase at Saint Louis School, Tagovailoa and Sapolu will provide financial advice on how to manage revenue earned from the use of a player's name, image and likeness; suggestions on whether to use an agent or attorney in NIL negotiations, and explanations of the roles of NIL collectives.

"We've been through it all," Tagovailoa said. "We've been through it with Tua, where there was no NIL and all those NCAA rules. You couldn't even make T-shirts and sell them."

Tua's younger brother, Taulia, grew up in Hawaii and played at Alabama and Maryland. "Taulia went through the NIL process we see now," Diane said, "which is schools paying big-time money and offering all kinds of stuff to not only recruit kids but also to retain them, keep them at the school."

Diane Tagovailoa and Lisa Sapolu also will speak on the basics of players seeking a football scholarship.

"You can't get a scholarship without first performing on the field and in the classroom," Tagovailoa said. At last year's sessions, she said, there were several parents who did not know about the NCAA Clearinghouse, which approves a player's eligibility. She said this year's sessions will encourage parents to know the courses needed to remain on the college-bound track, when to take the SAT, and a credit-building goal to give the option of graduating a semester early or in May.

"It's one big puzzle, she said. "All these pieces have to come together."

Tagovailoa said the two 30-minute sessions also are free and open to parents regardless of whether their child is enrolled in the camp.

Galu Tagovailoa, Tua's father, is the camp's on-field coordinator who will work primarily with the quarterbacks and receivers. Through his experience with college and high school coaches, Galu will teach footwork and mental preparation. Many Hawaii high school quarterbacks take snaps out of the shotgun. Galu said he will show all the quarterback drops, including after taking a snap under center.

Jesse Sapolu and Ma'a Tanuvasa, who won two Super Bowls as a defensive lineman with the Denver Broncos, will coach the linemen. Kahuku's Sterling Carvalho, Saint Louis' Tupu Alualu, Farrington's Mike Lafaele and Campbell's Darren Johnson are among the high school head coaches who are scheduled to be camp instructors.

Campers will receive a breakfast snack, lunch, combine T-shirt, Manning Passing Academy video, drawstring bag and mouthpiece. There will be instructional sessions on combine-like drills. Campers then will participate in the drills, with videos forwarded to college coaches.

The camp fee is $90 per participant, although it is estimated two-thirds of the campers are expected to attend for free through donations.

Through their foundations, Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota are each paying for two players from all 44 of the state's high school teams. The Cutter Auto Group is providing camp scholarships for 50 players from Maui. The Liliuo'kalani Trust is is paying for 25 players from Oahu's West side and Kauai to attend the camp. Private Security Group is paying for 10 Saint Louis players and the travel expenses for five college coaches from the mainland. Southwest Airlines is donating 25 round-trip tickets for Maui players.

For details, go to: hawaiispeedandquickness.com/gpafootball.