Rising OL Brian Tapu commits to Huskers

2025 Salt Lake City (Utah) West three-star offensive tackle Brian Tapu has flipped his commitment to Nebraska after a brief pledge to Oregon State.

The announcement came on Thursday, just four days after he initially committed to Oregon State while on an official visit in Corvallis. In a now deleted statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the 6-foot-7, 295-pound Tapu referred to his commitment to the Beavers as a mistake. Now just a few days later, he’s committed to the Huskers.

“I think the reason for Nebraska is Coach [Donovan] Raiola, Coach Matt [Rhule] and the community overall just makes this place different,” he said. “The community here is different than all the other colleges I’ve been to.”

Back in Salt Lake City, Tapu is coached by Nebraska Hall of Famer Toniu Fonoti, who brought him to Lincoln for his first visit earlier this spring. The three-star has learned about the deep tradition at Nebraska and, now that he’s committed, is excited to continue to legacy.

“Oh, I’m excited, man,” he said. “I’m excited to continue the legacy that’s been passed down since the program started. Can’t wait to ball out.”

Having moved from New Zealand in 2023, the recruiting process is relatively new for Tapu. He left his family back home to pursue his football dreams and hadn’t seen in parents in nearly a year until Nebraska flew them in to join him for his official visit earlier this month.

“For Nebraska to bring out my parents for my official visit, I think that’s something that I really cherish,” he said. “I’m just really grateful that they were able to do that.”

The recruiting process is especially new for his family. Like most parents, Tapu’s cares about his safety and comfort more than anything as they evaluated future homes together. After the weekend in Lincoln, Rhule and Raiola earned their trust.

“They loved it, they love the program,” he said. “They love Coach Raiola, Coach Matt. They’re just happy for me knowing if I come to this school I’ll be safe and taken care of.”

Tapu, who’s only played football for one year, understands it’s going to take some time before he sees the field at the collegiate level. Still, he’s bought in to the vision Rhule and Raiola have for him.

“I think for now it’s just development,” he said. “They want the best players out there so I think they’re just going to develop me to get to that stage and put me at any position, I don’t mind.”

Tapu is the first offensive line commit for Raiola and the Huskers in the 2025 class. He’s the 12th total commit and the second from Utah, joining Lone Peak three-star tight end Bear Tenney in the class.