Throughout the course of fall camp, HawaiiAthletics.com will provide an in-depth breakdown of the 2015 Rainbow Warrior football team, position-by-position, leading up to the first week of regular-practices in preparation for UH's season opener against against Colorado on Sept. 3.
Outside Receivers | Inside Receivers and Tight Ends | Cornerbacks | Safeties | Special Teams: Kickers, Returners and Snappers | Quarterbacks | Defensive Line | Offensive Line | Running Backs | Inside Linebackers 

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HONOLULU—The State holiday didn't affect the schedule for the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior football team, which got after it in shells on Friday at Cooke Practice Field, as fall camp started to wind down. The Warriors continue to refine technique and the new 2015 schemes on both sides of the ball, as UH is now under the two-week mark to the season opener.

On Thursday, we reviewed the inside linebackers, but the focus for the final position breakdown turns to their counterparts on the outside, coached by Kurt Gouveia—a Wai'anae-raised local hero who is in the Hawai'i Sports and Polynesian Halls of Fame after a 13-year NFL career.

Replacing starter TJ Taimatuia—who showed a knack for breaching the line of scrimmage—will be a tough task, but return the opposite starter, senior Lance Williams (6-0, 230, Honolulu, O'ahu) and full-season backup, sophomore Jeremy Castro (6-4, 240, Murrieta, Calif.).

 

A captain for the 2015 Warriors, Williams begins his fourth season at UH, starting seven contests in his junior campaign, logging 25 tackles and showing his breaking speed with a pair of blocked kicks, providing the leadership to earn a team vote for his captainship.

"He had a good season last year and worked hard all off-season. I'm excited to see him play this year," said newcomer Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea.
Transferring to UH from UCLA, Castro appeared in all 13 games a year ago after sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. He registered 21 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and two sacks last year.

"He is a talented young man that has the size and the speed to do a lot of things on the football field, we just have to put him in the right position to have success," Gouveia said.

Speaking of Kema-Kaleiwahea (6-3, 240, 'Ewa Beach, O'ahu), he's one of the most promising additions to the off-season roster for the 'Bows. A junior transfer from Arizona who was cleared to play this season by an NCAA exemption shortly before camp opened, his attacking style has drawn rave reviews since coming aboard in the spring.  At UA, Kema-Kaleiwahea played in 25 games and was penciled in to be a big part of the Wildcats' defense before opting to transfer home due to a family situation.

 

"He's such a good football player, it's hard for us not to keep him on the field, and we're going to try our best to keep him out there, whether in certain packages or just in base," Gouveia said. "He's a player that we feel is someone who can change a game's tempo."

Also expected to make a big splash after redshirting in 2014, Jahlani Tavai (6-4, 235, Redondo Beach, Calif.) capitalized on the chance to mature and develop a greater understanding of the playbook. The youngest of three Division I football playing siblings—including brother J.R., who was a four-year player at Southern Cal and is currently a rookie linebacker for the Tennessee Titans—he was an all-division football player and two-time All-American rugby player.

 

"Last year he was good enough to play, but not quite there," Gouveia said. "This year he's caught up and he's worked hard in the weight room, getting bigger, stronger and faster. I'm pleased that we redshirted him and this year he'll play—a lot."

The quartet consumes a significant number of reps, but there are others at their heels fighting for playing time as well. For now, Gouveia is content with the rotation that's developing, but keeps a constant eye on the up-and-comers battling for more looks.

"Those four guys have really been coming on strong in camp and I'm excited to see what they can do on September 3rd—outstanding football players with good size and great speed," Gouveia noted. "I'm feeling really good about my group of guys. They're working really hard and trying to get better. Everybody is on a mission to really do something great this year, and I love the attitude about it."

A pair of players right with the pack are junior Austin Slade-Matautia (6-1, 225, 'Aiea, O'ahu) and freshman Malachi Mageo (6-2, 210, Carson, Calif.). Slade-Matautia jumped into the action last year, returning from an NCAA-imposed redshirt year after transferring from Oregon State, playing in 10 games for the 2014 Rainbow Warriors. Learning to make the move from inside to the outside, Mageo redshirted in 2014 and was an all-Division, all-league and all-area pick, racking up 115 tackles as a senior, including 21 for loss—a frequent sentiment is that he loves impact. Freshman Noah Borden (6-1, 215, Pearl City, O'ahu) is also fighting to see action this year, returning during the summer from a two-year Mormon mission in Las Vegas and working to return to the timing of football, but his skillset may allow him to see the field.

Continuing a theme for all positions, the outside linebackers made the necessary strength and conditioning adjustments with strength coordinator Gary Beemer, and it has paid off in solid weight gains and a leaner condition for the unit.

"We pushed them to lean up and lose some weight, and now they're strong enough to take on blockers every play," Gouveia said. "We wanted them faster and more mobile, and now they're showing it on the football field."

Kema-Kaleiwahea agrees, and credits Beemer as the best he's worked with in his career. For him, he says the benefits are easy to see.

"I've gotten a lot stronger since I've gotten here," Kema-Kaleiwahea said. "I've put on about 25 pounds. My bench increased over 100 pounds and the same for my squat. The junior college guys who arrived here with me in the spring, they got a lot bigger too. Coach Beemer really keeps us lean, and he's here from sun-up to sun-down and really wants to see us get better."

"To play outside 'backer, you have to be one of the best athletes—you're pass rushing, you're in coverage, you're playing run—and we're pretty much the one group that does all three," Kema-Kaleiwahea added.

A key element for any unit, the 'Bows' outsides are starting to come together as a group, but it's not by happenstance or proximity, it's something the players worked at full-time over the summer.

"During the off-season, we hung out a lot," Kema-Kaleiwahea said. "Not just when we trained, but we did extra after and then went out to breakfast or lunch, sometimes to the beach and other places. Our captain does a really good job of holding us together."

Tavai echoes the sentiment, but insists that the unity garnered over the summer extends beyond the confines of the unit.

"Not only did it bring the outsides together, but it brought the whole defense in," Tavai said. "We all started communicating better. All of us are more prepared than last year, so the whole unit and defense is better."

UH has just one more date remaining in fall camp, closing out the practice set on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. on the UH campus. Classes begin on Monday, and practices in the regular season start next week, leading up to the September 3 meeting with Colorado.

"We grew as a unit together, we all put in the time to study the plays and we all have good team sessions, and we're really starting to come together," Castro concluded. "I really think we have a strong foundation as a defense. We're just ready to go."