Offensive Lineman Nuku Mafi the Latest Utahn to Find Success in Stillwater

STILLWATER — The Cowboys made a big play late in the Class of 2024 recruiting cycle by pulling in a pair of big offensive linemen from Utah.

Nuku Mafi and Semisi Tonga were high school teammates at West High School in Salt Lake City. The pair committed to Oklahoma State on Oct. 15, 2023 — about two months out from early signing day. But the recruitment wasn’t over.

About a week out from signing day, Tonga flipped to Arizona State. With the two sharing a high school, many visits and the fact that they committed to OSU on the same day, there was a worry among those who follow OSU recruiting that Mafi would follow suit. But when Dec. 15 came, OSU announced Mafi had signed his letter of intent, meaning the Cowboys thwarted off late pushes from Arizona State and BYU.

Why did Mafi, a Utahn, decide against the more western schools? He felt the love in Stillwater.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed,” said Mafi of Tonga going to Arizona State. “It would’ve been fun having him play alongside with me, but he made his decision to flip, and I was like, ‘I’ma just stay strong and stay here.’ I’ve been on other (official visits), but none of them felt like the love I felt here.”

Mafi credits OSU coach Mike Gundy and player development specialist Beni Tonga for creating that love.

Mafi, now a 6-foot-4, 325-pound redshirt freshman, didn’t play in his first season on campus, but with a year of college experience and a new trio of offensive line coaches, Mafi looks to be in a spot to compete for a starting role in his second year on campus.

Should he carve out a more defined role, he’d be far from the first player from Utah to contribute for the Cowboys.

OSU has 8.5 players from Utah on its 2025 roster — I give the 0.5 to freshman tight end Jordan Vyborny, who played his senior season of high school ball at Corner Canyon in Utah after moving from Illinois.

But even past this current crop, recent Cowboys like Mason Cobb and Justin Kirkland made the voyage from the Beehive State. Perhaps the most famous example of Utahn Cowboys is someone Mafi grew up looking up to — Jaylen Warren. Warren played running back for the Cowboys during their Fiesta Bowl-winning 2021 season after transferring from Utah State.

“We all grew up in Rose Park, Utah — the Salt Lake City area,” Mafi said. “We all grew since diaper days. Me and Sesi (Vailahi) — me and Sesi grew up together, too. We played little league together, and now college together, which is mind-blowing.

“(Warren is) just a motivator. He just inspires me just to be great and do more.”

It makes sense that Mafi could have a big jump coming out of his redshirt year since the Cowboys essentially have three offensive line coaches now. OSU hired alums Andrew Mitchell, Cooper Bassett and Grant Garner this offseason.

“At first, I was like, ‘Dang, that’s a little weird,’ I’m not gonna lie, having three offensive (line) coaches” Mafi said. “But it really helps more because they really look more into your technique — your footing, hand placement.

“Those coaches are really great. They really go into detail about technique, what I should do better. My pass set — I wasn’t really comfortable with my pass set at first until Mitchell and Bassett were coaching me up on it. I got faster. I had more urgency coming off the line. That’s what really helped me.”

If Mafi is able to have a breakout year, he could anchor the Pokes’ O-line for years to come.

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