Throughout the course of fall camp, HawaiiAthletics.com will provide a breakdown of the 2019 Rainbow Warrior football team, position-by-position, as the team prepares for its home season opener against Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 24. 
 
The defensive line returns nearly a dozen upperclassmen including second team all-MW senior Kaimana Padello. Meanwhile, the front line loses only three players from a season ago (including one starter in Zeno Choi) and welcomes a bevy of seven newcomers looking to fortify the line.

"Going into this year, we're going to play more open and take the thinking out of it," said defensive line coach Ricky Logo. "We've added depth to the line, we're more physical upfront and faster than last year."

Returnees
 

Defensive End	Ht	Wt	Cl	2018 Stats
Manly Williams	6-2	245	Sr.	20 tkls, 3 TFL, 3 sks
Jeffery Keene	6-4	230	Sr.	2 Tkls, one blocked punt
Kaimana Padello	6-0	225	Sr.	24 Tkls ,13 TFL, 8.5 sks
Fanupo Peapealalo	6-3	265	Sr.	Appeared in one game
Derek Thomas	6-3	225	Jr.	18 tkls,1 TFL, 1 sk
Mason Mataafa	6-4	235	Jr.	Played in seven games on ST
Kamuela Borden	6-4	250	So.	Played in six games on ST
Jonah Laulu	6-5	270	Fr.	Redshirted
Jonah Kahahawai-Welch	6-2	230	Fr.	Redshirted
Zach Ritner	6-3	240	Fr.	Redshirted
Andrew Choi	6-0	230	Fr.	Redshirted
Defensive Tackle	Ht	Wt	Cl	2018 Stats
Azia Se'ei	5-11	275	Sr.	10 tkls
Samiuela Akoteu	6-2	280	Sr.	35 tkls, 5.5 TFL, 3 sks
Eperone Moananu	6-2	290	Sr.	9 tkls
Kendall Hune	6-3	285	Sr.	40 tkls, 1 TFL, 1 sk
Makai Manuwai	6-1	280	Jr.	3 tkls
Justus Tavai	6-3	295	So.	Redshirted
Doug Russell	6-5	290	So	Redshirted
Blessman Ta'ala	6-1	300	So.	32 tkls, 3.5 TFL
Foi Shaw	6-0	320	Fr.	Redshirted
Stephan Bernal-Wendt	6-4	310	So.	Moved to DL from OL this year

                              
                      
    

    
    
   

  
 
 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Newcomers
 

Defensive Line	Ht	Wt	Cl	Hometown (Last School)
Mason Vega (DE)	6-3	275	Jr.	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Chaffey College)
Chance Kalaugher (DE)	6-6	240	Jr.	Honolulu, O'ahu (Saddleback College)
DJuan Matthews (DT)	5-11	280	Jr.	Houston, Texas (Blinn College)
Alema Kapoi (DT)	6-0	270	So.	Kapolei, O'ahu (Navy)
Kalani Kamakawiwo'ole (DE)	6-0	220	Fr.	Honolulu, O'ahu (Kamehameha Schools)
Samson Siilata (DE)	6-3	255	Fr.	Kaneohe, O'ahu (Kahuku HS)
Mark Blocker II (DE)	6-3	230	Fr.	Los Angeles, Calif. (Lawndale HS)

 





2018 DLs lost: Zeno Choi, Tevarua Eldridge, Maxwell Hendrie
 
The Ones To Watch: Kaimana Padello was one of the most disruptive forces in the conference a season ago,  leading UH with 13.5 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks... assistant coach Jacob Yoro says: "Padello is everything we expect him to be—he's a leader out here and he's the hardest worker out here. He was that last year when he was trying to prove himself and he's continued to do that this year."...Blessman Ta'ala and Kendall Hune should continue to hold down the interior...Ta'ala started all 14 games at nose tackle in 2018 as a true freshman, while Hune provided solid production finishing second among UH lineman in tackles (40), despite not starting a single game...Logo says: "Hune and Taala played a lot of snaps last season, they have been mentoring the newcomers— they're like my assistant coaches out there teaching the same language. Their leadership has been great."

Standing Tall: The Rainbow Warriors will be unleashing some size this year..Jonah Kahahawai-Welch (6-2) Jonah Laulu (6-5), Mason Mataafa (6-4), and Zach Ritner (6-3) all redshirted last year and now look to be a menace to UH opponents with their length and athleticism.

Numbers To Know: UH's defense recorded its highest sack total (30) since the 2011 season, with 21.5 of those sacks coming from the defensive line...  the unit returns 87 percent of its tackle production (304/348) from a season ago.
 
Fun Facts: At a young age, Manly Williams' older brother gave him the nickname "Pumba" from the movie Lion King...Blessman Ta'ala received his first name from his Pastor that blessed his grandparent's wedding.
 
Logo's Last Word: "The biggest thing I've been preaching is physicality. Hawai'i was considered a team that when you played them, you felt it. This year we have to be the more physical team. Regardless of the outcome, when you play the University of Hawai'i, you will feel it."

Yoro's Last Word: "It's not about counting stats at the end of the year, it's more about the execution and when plays are presented, are we finishing the play… that's something we've been stressing throughout camp."