Tony-Louis Nkuba bullish on the Sun Devils
Lewisville (Tex.) four-star defensive back Tony-Louis Nkuba released his Top-5 schools as he plans to make a preseason decision. Not every school on that list received an unofficial visit yet, yet multiple such occurrences as Arizona State did. The recruiting experience of Nkuba with ASU has formed an already strong bond early in the 2024 cycle.
“(ASU cornerbacks coach) Bryan Carrington has been messaging me a lot for a while now,” Nkuba said. “I like how he keeps it real with me. He never lies to you and always keeps his word. He likes my press coverage and length at cornerback and how I get a lot of picks. The defense they (ASU) run is the same one we run at high school, and I like a defense where my eyes can be on the quarterback. When I can read the quarterback, I can get picks.”
In 11 games during his junior season, Nkuba posted 21 tackles and seven interceptions, earning District 6-6A First Team All-District honors.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound defensive back has 13 total offers but has narrowed down his list to a pair of Arizona State Pac-12 foes in Cal and Oregon State, as well as SMU and Arkansas. Nkuba has already unofficially visited Tempe twice and came away impressed by his experience.
“I loved the area and how close the campus is to the city,” Nkuba described, “and I’m not gonna lie, I love how the stadium is located between two mountains. That blew me away. When I watched film I could see I could be a good fit if I came there. I really felt the love when I was on my visit, and I plan to take an official visit there in June.”
Arkansas and SMU are the only other schools that the defensive back had visited to date, but he plans to take official visits to the handful of schools he has narrowed down his list to.
Respect and the subsequent recruiting rating have to be earned, and with a meteoric rise that began only last year, Nkuba certainly has a lot to be proud of, as his efforts were greatly rewarded. Aside from a four-star rating, the defensive back is a Top-60 prospect in the state of Texas and Top-35 among cornerbacks in his class.
“When the season started, I didn’t have any stars by my name,” Nkuba remarked. “So I knew how the season was going to go for me and that I was going to be the most targeted (defensive back) on my team. I came with that mindset every game and ended the season with seven picks. I knew I had to step up, and I did. This year I probably won’t be targeted as much, so I need to show that I can come down and make a tackle and put myself in defending the run.”
Nkuba said that he isn’t ruling out making his decision as early as May 17th, and he is scheduled to graduate high school this December.
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