HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i football program secured commitments from 17 prospects during the new early signing period, beginning on Wednesday. Among the group are 12 prep standouts and five junior college transfers. Eight of the signees are defensive players, seven are on offense and two are athletes.
 
Nearly half of the group will enroll at UH during the spring semester including freshmen Kamuela Borden, Jeremy Moussa, Eric Rooks, and Blessman Ta'ala, and JUCO transfers Cedric Byrd, Jeffrey Keene, Kohl Levao and Derek Thomas.
 
Highlighting the class are four local standouts, including two from Hawai'i state champion Saint Louis School – quarterback Chevan Cordeiro (Honolulu, O'ahu) and defensive back Kai Kaneshiro (Honolulu, O'ahu) – along with Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama's Jonah Kahahawai-Welch (Kailua, O'ahu) and 'Iolani School's Kamuela Borden (Honolulu, O'ahu). Cordeiro was selected as the Gatorade Hawai'i Player of the Year while Kahahawai-Welch was rated the No. 2 prospect in the state by 247Sports.
 
One of the team's primary needs was defensive line, where the Warriors inked six prospects – Ta'ala (Pago Pago, American Samoa), Keene (Temple, Md.), Kahahawai-Welch, Mason Mataafa (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Zach Ritner (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Thomas (Huntington Beach, Calif.) while the two recruited "athletes" – Borden and Jonah La'ulu of Centennial High in Las Vegas, Nev., both played on the defensive line in high school. Borden initially signed with UH out of 'Iolani in 2015 before serving a two-year church mission.
 
Six of the signees come from southern California including quarterback Jeremy Moussa (Corona, Calif.) from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in California, who threw for 90 touchdowns and more than 7,000 yards in two seasons as a starter. Two-way player Khoury Bethley (Chino, Calif.) of Don Lugo High School was recruited as a linebacker and tallied 75 tackles and six sacks as a senior.
 
Receivers Cedric Byrd of Long Beach City College, Nick Mardner of Clarkson Secondary School and Eric Rooks of The Taft School in Chicago, Ill., add speed and physicality to the Warriors receiving corps. Offensive lineman Ilm Manning (Glendale, Ariz.) played both sides of the line at Apollo High School, where he was named the 5A Metro Region Player of the Year.

15 of the signees inked NLIs on the first day of the signing period, Wednesday, Dec. 20, but Thomas sent in his signed letter on Saturday, Dec. 23, and Levao joined the group on Dec. 24.
 
2018 Early Signing Class

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown / Previous School	Highlights
Khoury Bethley	LB	5-11	195	Fr.	Chino Hills, Calif. / Don Lugo HS	Video
Kamuela Borden	ATH	6-4	235	Fr.	Honolulu, O'ahu / 'Iolani School	Video
Cedric Byrd	WR	5-9	170	Jr.	Los Angeles, Calif. / Long Beach City College	Video
Chevan Cordeiro	QB	6-1	180	Fr.	Honolulu, O'ahu / Saint Louis School	Video
Jonah Kahahawai-Welch	LB/DL	6-2	225	Fr.	Kailua, O'ahu / Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama	Video
Kai Kaneshiro	DB	6-2	190	Fr.	Honolulu, O'ahu / Saint Louis School	Video
Jeffrey Keene	DL	6-4	230	Jr.	Temple Hills, Md. / Fort Scott Community College	Video
Jonah La'ulu	ATH	6-5	245	Fr.	Las Vegas, Nev. / Centennial HS	Video
Kohl Levao	OL	6-5	320	Jr.	Aberdeen, Was. / CC of San Francisco	Video
Ilm Manning	OL	6-4	250	Fr.	Glendale, Ariz. / Apollo HS	Video
Nick Mardner	WR	6-5	190	Fr.	Oakville, Ontario / Clarkson Secondary School	Video
Mason Mata'afa	DL	6-5	235	So.	Costa Mesa, Calif. / Orange Coast College	Video
Jeremy Moussa	QB	6-3	205	Fr.	Corona, Calif. / Eleanor Roosevelt HS	Video
Zach Ritner	DL	6-3	240	Fr.	Mission Viejo, Calif. / Capistrano Valley HS	Video
Eric Rooks	WR	6-3	210	Fr.	Chicago, Ill. / The Taft School	Video
Blessman Ta'ala	DL	6-1	285	Fr.	Pago Pago, American Samoa / Faga'itua HS	Video
Derek Thomas	DL	6-3	225	So.	Huntington Beach, Calif. / Cerritos College	Video