Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The college teams that host high school athletes want to make a good impression when they welcome a recruit to campus, and the same can be said for the players they’re courting. However, a three-star prospect from Utah may have lost his chance to play for the Trojans after a wide receiver claimed he stole his equipment during a visit.
High school football players who have the talent to compete at the college level are able to take advantage of the perks that come with being invited by a team for an official visit. Those programs are permitted to cover the cost of travel, lodging, meals, and tickets to a game when they host a recruit, but the NCAA has some restrictions when it comes to other perks.
You might think those high schoolers leave campus with some swag in tow, but the governing body’s handbook not only bans “personalized recruiting aids” like custom jerseys but boasts an entertainment budget of just $60 that cannot be used for “t-shirts or other institutional mementos.”
It’s subsequently a bit strange that one recruit from Utah showed off a fairly sizeable haul after getting to experience gameday at USC, and a former Trojan who is gearing up for the NFL Draft has provided a possible explanation after accusing him of stealing it from him.
Former USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane claims Utah high school recruit Brawley Tuitupou stole his equipment during a visit
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume the vast majority of people reading this are not familiar with Brawley Tuitupou, a three-star athlete who plays high school football at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah and is planning to take his talents to the next level after graduating in 2027.
The 6’4″, 175-pound Tuitupou has received official offers from over two dozen programs, including Florida, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. He has not gotten one from the other USC, but he was invited to visit that campus in Los Angeles when the Trojans hosted Northwestern toward the start of November last season.
However, things have taken an odd turn after Ja’Kobi Lane, the now-former USC wide receiver who declared for the NFL Draft after wrapping up his junior season, hopped online to accuse Tuitupou of stealing his gear from the locker room during the visit while sharing a picture the latter posted that featured socks, gloves, cleats, and other apparel with the school’s insignia.
This kid stole my cleats and a bunch of stuff from the sc locker room. All yall kids out there just know this is simply unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/RW0FFEw8rU
— Ja’Kobi Lane (@cantGuardJak1) February 23, 2026
Tuitupou has not responded to those accusations as of this writing, but it’s certainly not the best look.