Report: Former BYU Offensive Lineman Mango Finau Enters Transfer Portal
Jun 4, 2020, 2:42 PM
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 16: A singular view of a BYU Cougars football helmet during the game between the Cougars and the Wisconsin Badgers at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – Former BYU offensive lineman Mango Finau entered the NCAA’s Transfer Portal on Thursday according to a report from 247Sports.
BYU guard Mango Finau is in the portal. He was a three-star prospect in 2017. https://t.co/q8pqF4iLge
— 247Sports Transfer Portal (@247SportsPortal) June 4, 2020
Finau, a former three-star offensive lineman, signed with BYU in the class of 2017 out of Baldwin High School in Kinei, Hawaii. He competed in fall camp that season as a 17-year-old true freshman checking in at 6-foot-4, 355-pounds before suffering a season-ending injury during camp. The season-ending injury forced Finau to redshirt in 2017.
Finau left to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he returned in the fall of 2019. He was on the sidelines watching BYU’s home-finale win over Idaho State last fall as a spectator.
When BYU kicked off spring football at the beginning of March, Finau was not listed on the roster.
Early departures in BYU’s 2017 recruiting class
Finau is the fifth player in BYU’s 2017 recruiting class that didn’t complete their football career with the Cougars. The other four include Tongi Langi who was last at New Mexico Military Academy, Taipe “John” Vaka, Tariq Buchanan who transferred to Texas Southern, and former four-star defensive end Langi Tuifua.
Tuifua’s career was cut short due to medical retirement. He currently remains enrolled at BYU as a student.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
