In the end, Xavier Su’a-Filo chose faith over football.
UCLA’s freshman phenom offensive tackle said after the Bruins’ 30-21 EagleBank Bowl win over Temple on Tuesday that he was leaving school and embarking on his LDS mission.
The All-Pac-10 honorable mention selection has returned home to Utah and will learn of his destination on Jan. 6.
“I always thought it was the right thing to do,” said Su’a-Filo, who was a fixture at left tackle this season, starting all 13 games. “Growing yup, it was what I wanted to do. It was always ingrained in the back of my mind. I wasn’t looking for reasons not to go – I was trying to concentrate on the season, and see if it was the right thing for me to do at this time. After prayer and thought, I felt like it was.”