During his sophomore year at Campbell High School, Matthew Masifilo developed a plan with regard to how he would choose which college to attend.

And all the way through Monday, when he made a verbal commitment to play football at Stanford University, Masifilo stuck to that plan. He did not waver, even through Stanford's recent 1-11 season and change in coaching staffs last month.

"I remember something (recruiting counselor) Doris Sullivan told me two years ago," Masifilo said. "She made a point of telling us not to choose a school based just on who the coaches were, because that can change at any time. She said we should think about if I wasn't playing football, would I still feel comfortable at that school anyway?"

Masifilo, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound lineman who carries a 4.0 grade point average, chose Stanford over California and Washington. He also had taken a recruiting trip to Oregon.

"I made my decision on Thursday, but then I talked to my parents and slept on it over the weekend," Masifilo said. "I wanted to make sure I wouldn't change my mind."

Masifilo played offensive line at Campbell but said Stanford plans to have him play defensive end in its new 4-3 scheme. The Cardinal recently hired Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach.

But Masifilo said position, scheme and head coach were not major factors in his decision. Academics were.

"You could go on for days analyzing (different schools), but I just felt Stanford was the best place for me," said Masifilo, who plans to major in aeronautical engineering. "I went to a couple of their academic seminars, and I really like their teaching philosophy."

Masifilo even went so far as to make note of how many other engineering students were on each college team.

"Stanford has a bunch of guys (in the engineering programs)," he said. "That makes me feel good, too, because I know I'll be in some of the same classes as my teammates and we can help each other."

Masifilo had at least 13 NCAA Division I scholarship offers entering this season, including ones from Hawai'i, Arizona, Oregon State and Utah, but he soon narrowed his choices to Stanford, Cal, Washington and Oregon.

"The recruiting (process) can be stressful, so I wanted to narrow it down early and concentrate on four schools," Masifilo said. "It started back in February, so it's almost a whole year."

Oregon eventually was eliminated from the equation because it does not have an aeronautical engineering program.

He visited Washington and considered Seattle's aeronautical industry, but he has family in the Bay Area and felt more of a pull toward California. Cal's football program, which went 10-3 this past season and finished ranked No. 14 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, clearly was way ahead of Stanford's.

But Masifilo said he did not count the Cardinal's struggles against Stanford.

"I want to take ownership in helping build the program," he said.

But Masifilo, who suffered a dislocated right elbow in September and missed much of the season, said football will not be his top priority in college.

"When you get hurt, it humbles you," he said. "It makes you realize that football can end at any time."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.