3-star California defensive lineman Kaho Tuihalamaka commits to Arizona

One of the most exciting times of the recruiting season is here...OFFICIAL VISIT SEASON!

Since arriving in Tucson, head coach Jedd Fisch has been successful at building the base for Arizona’s classes during official visits.

This weekend marked the first major official visit weekend for Arizona and it was an overall success.

UA landed multiple commitments and with the vast majority being on defense. The first to go public with his pledge is 3-star Orange County defensive lineman Kaho Tuihalamaka.

Tuihalamaka, from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana (CA), is a wall in the middle of the defense. At 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds, he’s big, strong, and is a nuisance to handle if you are an opposing offensive lineman. He can easily eat up multiple blocks and reacts quickly to any ball carrier that comes near him. He has strong hands and has shown an ability to break blocks to get to the ball carrier. Run-stuffer is a great descriptor for Tuihalamaka’s game.

His recruitment didn’t take off like one would think, however, that is to Arizona’s benefit. Tuihalamaka chose Arizona over Wisconsin. Oklahoma State, Nebraska, UNLV, and Hawaii.

He is ranked as the No. 1,169 player nationally, the No. 111 defensive lineman, and the 94th player in California, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

Tuihalamaka had a pretty successful junior season as a nose tackle. He recorded 20 tackles, 2.5 TFL, a QB hurry, and a PBU.

He is Arizona’s first defensive lineman commit of the 2024 class and is the 3rd defensive prospect to join the class. Overall the Wildcats have five '24 pledges.

See below for his junior season highlights.