2017 Hawai'i Football Fall Camp Coverage | For more, visit @HawaiiFootball on Twitter
Day 1:
Rainbow Warriors Open Fall Camp Hungry to Prove Themselves
Day 4:
Brown Provides Stability at Quarterback in 2017 Offense
Day 7:
Linebackers Unified Around Experienced Core
Day 8:
Warriors Gunning for Greater Offensive Improvement in 2017
Day 9:
Versatile Tight Ends and Receivers Look to Push Passing Attack to Next Level
Day 11:
Warrior Secondary Uses Veterans to Balance Talented but Inexperienced Depth
Day 15:
Warrior Special Teams Solidifying Components in Fall Camp
Day 16:
Saint Juste Headlines Multi-Talented Running Back Corps
Day 17 (Aug. 16): Defensive Line a Seasoned Group After Trial by Fire Last Season
Day 18 (Aug. 17): Offensive Line Preview
Day 19 (Aug. 18): Defensive Preview with Coordinator Legi Suiaunoa
Day 20 (Aug. 19): Fall Camp Concludes
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i football team returned to Clarence T.C. Ching Field on Wednesday, tearing into the opening stages of real preparation for the season opener against Massachusetts. The Rainbow Warriors split the field with true scout teams in multiple periods for the first time this fall camp, at the mid-point of week four.
The lines are typically the foundation to any unit, as the first point of contact, and the Rainbow Warrior defense brings a solid amount of live game experience to the 2017 season under second-year defensive line coach
Legi Suiaunoa. Extremely young last season with nine newcomers, including redshirts, the defensive line spread the reps around to provide a more battle-tested and experienced group for the 2017 campaign.
UH returns only two starters, replacing end
Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea and tackle
Kory Rasmussen, bringing back senior end
Meffy Koloamatangi and senior tackle
Penitito Faalologo. However, UH also saw spot starts by
Zeno Choi,
David Manoa,
Viane Moala and
Samiuela Akoteu. In the defensive trenches, UH returns a combined 153 games of experience from last year's group.
"I feel good about this group," Suiaunoa said. "We've bypassed a lot of the intro stuff and they know what to expect. All these guys are here because they're good football players, we just need to continue to develop them…these are big guys that can run, big guys that are strong and big guys that can react."
Koloamatangi (6-5, East Palo Alto, Calif.) earned All-Mountain West honorable mention last season after recording 38 tackles, including five for loss and three sacks coming off the edge – recording a crucial fumble recovery at Air Force, allowing a game-tying field goal. Entering his final season, he's got 20 games and 11 starts under his belt.
With Koloamatangi leading the unit, second-year coach
Mayur Chaudhari opened his first campaign with the defensive ends in the spring, switching sides of the ball when Suiaunoa was named defensive coordinator – however, he's held a variety of career positions on the defensive side and the integration has been smooth with the seasoned group.
"They're really fun to coach," Chaudhari said. "They are hungry to be great football players, so they will ask great questions in the meeting rooms and attentive all the time. They play so hard and so aggressively, and that's one thing you don't want to teach guys, you want them to have that naturally."
Also making four starts last year, senior Manoa (6-3, Hayward, Calif.) added 22 tackles with 2.5 for loss. A junior, Choi (6-3, Honolulu, O'ahu) worked inside but has moved to end after playing in 13 games with two starts a year ago, logging 18 tackles with two for loss. He's played 29 games so far for UH.
Also seeing time last season on the outside were junior
Tevarua Eldridge (6-2, Wailuku, Maui) and sophomore
Kaimana Padello (6-0, Mililani, O'ahu), appearing in 11 and 14 games, respectively. A former defensive Scout Team Award winner, Eldridge tabbed 15 tackles with 0.5 for loss, while Padello collected three stops – two for loss and one sack, also blocking a kick. The third in his family to play for the Warriors, sophomore
Manly Williams (6-2, Honolulu, O'ahu) played in two 2016 games, including the Hawai'i Bowl. Joining the mix this year on the outside is freshman Max Hendrie (6-4, Sydney, Australia). Hendrie played rugby for one of the leading programs in Australia and has adapted his attack to American football, drawing high praise from the staff.
"That group really understands how one guy goes, they all go, so they really try to push each other all the time," Chaudhari said. "What's great about it, it's a collective unti, they all want to be great and they all want the guy next to them to be great, so they know 'I need to go my 3-4 plays 100-million miles an hour and I need to make sure the guy behind me, next to me, whoever is the other guy is ready to go.'
Returning for the defensive tackles, Faalologo (5-11, Pago Pago, American Samoa) started 10 games inside with 19 tackles, including two for loss. He comes into 2017 with 34 games of experience and 15 starts. The competition is on to flank Faalologo in the middle, but sophomore
Viane Moala (Ili'ili, American Samoa) is coming off a breakout rookie campaign that saw him play in each game and start the final two, including the Hawai'i Bowl. Moala recorded 12 tackles with one for loss, also blocking two kicks on the year – including the game-winner at Fresno State. A sophomore, Akoteu (6-2, Inglewood, Calif.) played in 13 games with one start, tabbing 17 tackles with 1.5 for loss and a sack. Skilled on both sides of the ball, sophomore
Eperone Moananu (6-2, Pago Pago, American Samoa) redshirted last year and played offense as a rookie, came to UH as one of the top-rated players in his home nation.
The Warrior tackles will also gain the services of four players who redshirted a year ago, all freshmen.
Cole Carter (6-4, Ashburn, Va.) started his UH career on the outside but has gained weight and his skills translate well in the middle. Carter earned the Coach Hank Vasconcellos Defensive Scout Team Award last year.
Wesley Faagau (6-0, Wai'anae, O'ahu) and
Joey Nu'uanu-Kuhi'iki (6-3, Wai'anae, O'ahu) also return with a year of training under Suiaunoa.
Coming with high acclaim out of the 2017 recruiting class, freshmen
Doug Russell and
Anthony Mermea are fighting for reps this fall. Russell (6-5, Seattle, Wash.) was an all-state player and Metro League Mountain Division Defensive Lineman of the Year at O'Dea High School with 100 tackles, 11 for loss and seven sacks as a senior. Mermea (6-4, Belleflower, Calif.) was a two-time all-Southwestern League pick at Vista Murrieta High School, logging 66 tackles with 23 for loss and five sacks to close out his prep career. Additionally, freshman
Makai Manuwai (6-1, South Medford, Ore.) and junior
Fanupo Peapealalo (6-3, Oceanside, Calif.) joined the Warriors in camp. Manuwai was a two-time all-conference selection at Medford High School, while Peapealalo transferred after two years at Graceland University in Iowa.
The Rainbow Warriors only have three days remaining in fall camp, turning full attention next week to the August 26 opener in Amherst, Mass., kicking off game-week practices on Monday.
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