Top recruits following their faith and putting college on hold

Nick Lucero/Rivals.com

Even before his football recruitment took off, Weston Port knew he wanted to serve a two-year Mormon mission.

He saw his two older sisters do it and witnessed how it changed their lives. Since middle school, the San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) San Juan Hills four-star linebacker wanted it for his life as well.

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As recruiting picked up and he eventually chose UCLA, Port never swayed from that decision even if it meant the challenge of putting his football future on hold for two years, stopping that momentum of excelling in high school and then heading to Westwood to continue his football journey.

Port will do his mission in Spain and then return in either December 2026 or January 2027 to play for the Bruins.

“It definitely is a sacrifice no matter if I’m a football player or I have other things going on in my life, it’s a sacrifice,” Port said. “There will be opportunities for me to work out, we get an hour in the morning. It’s not going to be like what I have here and used to over the last few years and playing football. It is a sacrifice on that part.

“But for me something I’ve really thought about is I’ll be better when I get back. I’ll return with a greater understanding of myself, greater leadership capabilities, work habits, a knowledge of what it takes to be successful. There will be some sacrifices but I’ll return more mature and better set up for success.”

One of the many reasons UCLA won out in Port’s recruitment was because the coaching…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/top-recruits-following-faith-putting-125435960.html

Author : Rivals

Publish date : 2025-02-14 12:54:00

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