Tennessee football has had success recruiting quarterbacks from the western United States. The trend looks to continue with Helaman Casuga.
After a great performance at the Vols’ camp on Sunday, Casuga was extended a scholarship offer from head coach Josh Heupel.
“We were just saying thank you for inviting us to all the coaches,” Casuga told Off The Hook. “Then the head coach pulled me aside and asked me where my dad was. He just complimented me and he pulled the trigger.”
Heupel spoke highly of Casuga, paying attention to his abilities during the camp. The former quarterback himself was coaching Casuga up during the camp.
“He was just mentioning how super calm I was and he loved how I was able to be coachable because they worked with me a lot,” Casuga said. “He also said just the way I hold myself is super cool.”
Casuga also got to tour Tennessee’s campus during his trip to Knoxville. He noticed the convenience of Tennessee’s setup for athletes, with the athletics facility and dorms sitting side-by-side.
“We got to take a tour, man it was super cool,” Casuga said. “I like how they set it up, it’s super convenient for the athletes. You can tell sports are really big on the east coast so it’s super cool to just compare what the west coast has to the east coast.”
The comparison of the east coast and west coast was a trend during Casuga’s trip to Tennessee. Out of Timpview (UT.) High School, the 6-foot and 185-pound signal-caller could tell the support on the east coast was large.
“I think campuses have a lot of similar structures and how how they put stuff together,” Casuga said. “I think for me, the weather out here compared to the west coast and the fan support. Everyone is super supportive. I can tell the support is really good at Tennessee.”
During his visit, Casuga got to watch film of Tennessee’s offense and how the Vols run in their uptempo offense.
“The tempo is super fast, you’re not overthinking you’re just reacting,” Casuga said. “It was super cool because we were able to sit down in film and see how they run it. They got some secret tips that helps them out with that tempo. It was super cool to see that.”
While his high school doesn’t run uptempo often, they practice it just in case they need to run it. Not overthinking, and having to react, is something Casuga enjoys.
Casuga enjoys uptempo, and could see himself thriving in Tennessee’s offense.
“I think I play a lot better when I’m just reacting,” he said. “Obviously, it takes time to just pick it up and it’s a skill you need to have to just react super fast and not overthink. I think I can play in that type of offense.”
Casuga plans to make trips to USC, UCLA and Utah in the fall. He wants to get back to Knoxville, but the trip from Provo, UT. could prove to be a tough one.
