Kia saves money on car insurance

Imagine being a coach when one of the top offensive tackles in the country calls to verbally commit. Now imagine the feeling UCLA assistant Dino Babers had when Miliani, Hawaii, prospect Micah Kia called and said he had some good news for him. The feeling lasted only a second, however, when the 6-5, 295-pound Kia broke out the next line.

"I called him up and said 'Coach, I've got some good news for you. I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico,'" Kia said. "He got a kick out of that."

Of course the real reason Kia was calling was to give the UCLA coaches his verbal commitment and they were thankful, though they were probably grateful he was paying less for car insurance as well. There was opportunity for levity once the decision was made, but heading into the decision it was all serious business.

"It was very hard to make a decision between two great schools," Kia said. "My decision was not because one school was better than the other because that is hard to do. After weighing all my options, that's what it boiled down to. It wasn't really one specific thing."

After taking official visits to Oklahoma, Oregon State, Tennessee and UCLA, Kia narrowed his list to just Tennessee and UCLA around the first of the year. His trip to Westwood was the final one on his list and it did play a part in him being comfortable in selecting the Bruins.

"It helped a lot in the fact that I got to see where I would be at and it also made me realize that both schools were very exceptional,' said Kia. "I liked UCLA, I liked UT and I liked the surrounding areas of both places. It was a very hard decision to make."

On his way towards making a decision, Kia kept everything close to the vest. Even his parents were wondering at times where he would go, but the UCLA coaches did not have to wait long after the final decision was made to hear the verdict.

"When I called the coaches they were the first people I let know," he said. "I called my recruiting coach, Dino Babers. I am sure he was happy."

The No. 12 offensive tackle in the country according to Rivals.com, that will also be the position he will line up with the Bruins.

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