UCLA OT Xavier Su'a-Filo opens up on his return from mission

Are we looking at the Mormon Jonathan Ogden? A gentleman off the field, but a beast on. Please, oh please.

WELCOME BACK XSF!!!

Definitely caught me smiling Jon! Xavier is so well grounded and a natural leader in his demeanor and by example. Definitely adds a lot to look forward to this coming year. I echo the above statement --> Welcome back XSF!!!

Admittedly, I wasnt overjoyed about Xavier leaving after his freshman year for his mission. However, I respected that he was doing something in which he truly believed. That doesnt mean I had to like it though.

But now, given the current circumstances, his two year delay may be a real blessing in disguise for us. His talent probably would have been totally wasted these last two years. Hopefully coach Mora and staff can turn him into a 1st round draft choice.

Welcome back Xavier!!

I hope his maturity and wisdom rubs off on his teammates. My passion bucket is filling up again...

Fabulous interview Jon. I couldn't stop smiling throughout the 10 minutes. XSF is great Bruin. Can't wait to see him play next season.

Come on Jon do it for the team. Strap on your old pads and helmet and let the X-man hit you as hard as he can. You could fill in as a bad DT for an afternoon.

X-man is back baby!

Great interview Jon, and welcome back XSF!

Incredible young man. Welcome back X! Go Bruins!

Thanks Jon,
WOW, this kid has grown mentally and is ready to go! Maybe his two year Mission was a Blessing in diguise so that it was not waisted on the last two Junk years. This gives him and the new look Bruins a fresh start!!!

Go Bruins.

Yahweh works in mysterious ways. Glad to have Xavier back home.

Great man. Proud to see him in blue and gold. Welcome back XSF.

He mentions getting his degree. Hopefully we get 3 years of XSF. SOOO happy he is back. I echo other statements. While I was bummed when he was gone, these last 2 years would have been wasted with bad teams. Glad we get 3 more years of XSF instead of just 1.

Great interview, Jon. XSF is a fine young man.

He may be the first UCLA All-American o-lineman in a long time.

If I was a guy and forced to have a boyfriend for two years, I'd appreciate life too.

This kid is legit. Very excited to have him back at UCLA.

I didn't mean to do it, it just came over me. Coach Jim promises to keep me off the field for the first year.

we wish we have more players like him

Jon (pronounced Jay-on): just passing it on, the question was posed on yahoo 'how do u pronounce Xavier?' ... "Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
As a student at Xavier University i can't tell you how much it angers us when people pronounce the X. Think about the musical instrument Xylophone. It is pronounced Zy-lo-phone, SILENT X. Xavier is the same way. Zay-vur, SILENT X. The parents who name their kids Xavier and pronounce it with an X are just ignorant and should be slapped because they don't understand the rules of english pronunciation. Xavier is also a spanish name pronounced Ha-vee-air. X's that start words are never pronounced as X's!
3 years ago "

Interesting. The X-man thing tends to throw me off, but I'll ask him about it next time. Thanks for pointing out.

By the way, the 'best answer' from yahoo actually is not completely accurate. The letter X is not a "SILENT X", it is just that it is pronounced as a Z in the beginning of these two words (xylophone and Xavier) used as examples.

I didn't mean to, it just came over me.

Actually Anonymous, Xavier in Spanish is pronounced za-vee-air with a Z sound just like zero, zeta etc. Javier with a J is pronounced Ha-vee-air as you mentioned. FYI.

Pronunciation aside, I'm thankful that Xavier has decided to return to the program and will help Coach Jim turn us in the right direction. A very admirable young man and a perfect role model for the rest of the team.