USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane accused Brawley Tuitupou of stealing gear from his personal college football locker during the recruiting process. The three-star prospect later released a statement to deny any wrongdoing.
A new set of messages appear to discredit his statement of denial.
This is one of the more bizarre stories in college football right now. Nobody seems to know the full truth.
Who is Brawley Tuitupou?
At 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, Tuitupou is rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2027. He ranks as one of the 20 best players in the state of Utah, one of the top 100 athletes in the country and one of the top 1000 players overall.
According to 247 Sports, the current junior at Mountain View High School holds 25 offers from schools like Cincinnati, Duke, Michigan State, Syracuse, Penn State, Washington State, Houston, Florida, Missouri, Iowa, West Virginia and Kentucky. I have my questions.
This is not to discredit Tuitupou’s attempt to play college football but something doesn’t quite add up.
His Hudle profile features only four clips of four plays— total. That is highly unusual for any recruit who wants to continue his career on the next level. And, to be honest, the film does not match the rating.
There must be something I am missing. Maybe Tuitupou had a big junior season. I wouldn’t know because I cannot find his stats anywhere, which is also strange for a fairly high-profile recruit. MaxPreps only lists seven catches and eight total tackles in six games. Perhaps there was an injury?
Regardless of the reason, Tuitupou is considered one of the most underrated recruits in college football.
Ja’Kobi Lane accused him of stealing.
Unfortunately, Brawley Tuitupou’s name is currently in the news for all of the wrong reasons. USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane accused him of stealing gear directly from his locker during a visit to campus.
Tuitupou later denied the allegations in a statement on Instagram. He claims the items were purchased through the proper channels and claims to have documentation of the purchase.
“I want to address the situation that’s been discussed online and be clear about the facts. I did not steal any gear, nor would I ever knowingly possess stolen property. The items in question were purchased by me in good faith, and I have documentation showing that I paid for them under the context that they had been obtained legitimately. At the time of purchase, I had no reason to believe they were connected to any issues.
“As soon as I learned there were questions surrounding the items, I began working to resolve the issue and return the items back to their rightful owners. I take my character and reputauion (sic) seriously, and anyone who knows me understands that I try my best to let integrity, faith and respect guide my actions.
“I have a lot of respect for Ja’Kobi and would never intentionally do anything to disrespect him. I’m thankful the facts are coming to light, and I’m focused on moving forward to better myself both on and off of the field.”
However, Tuitupou did not provide any evidence of documentation. Not that he has to… but it would put an end to this entire story if he did. Proof would immediately clear his name. Everybody could move on.
New Instagram messages add another wrinkle to the story.
Brawley Tuitupou deleted his account on X in the aftermath of this alleged theft scandal. Neither he nor Lane have said anything more after his statement of denial.
And now there is a new twist.
William Patteson of Fox Sports Knoxville and The PatteFacts podcast shared a set of screenshots from Instagram. Tuitupou appears to admit to stealing. The direct message chain says he “grabbed [cleats] from [Ja’Kobi Lane] after the game” and actively tried to sell them. The messages are with a buyer.
Disclaimer — I was not able to independently verify this thread. I also don’t know why Patteson, who primarily covers Tennessee sports, would be the person to receive these screenshots. It also appears as though the messages might be edited for brevity. It seems to me like there is some missing context.
I have my suspicions about these messages, like I do with this entire story, but Patteson runs an Instagram account with nearly 25K followers so it is very possible that someone sent him a tip.
Brawley Tuitupou has not addressed the alleged DM leak at the time of this writing.