High hopes for UH football's Tinoisamoa
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa has learned why "hide-and-seek" is never played on a football field.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Even covered with a helmet and pads, Tinoisamoa cannot escape the expectations of being one of San Diego's best high school football players in the last decade.
"I felt a lot of people expected a lot out of me," Pisa Tinoisamoa says. "That's why I tried to give them what they wanted to see."
"When I came out of high school, there was so much hype," said Tinoisamoa, who begins his junior year of college tomorrow. "No matter what I do, it seems people want so much more."
Of course, Tinoisamoa is responsible for much of the attention. A few months after being named San Diego County's Player of the Year in December 1998, Tinoisamoa served time in a youth detention center after pleading guilty to an assault charge.
In the fall of 1999, he was declared ineligible to play as a college freshman after the NCAA ruled that one of his high school classes did not qualify as a "core subject." Since then, the NCAA has changed its guidelines, empowering each high school to determine core subjects. Under that interpretation, Tinoisamoa would have been allowed to play in 1999.
Last season, Tinoisamoa was admittedly overweight and over-anxious.
"I felt a lot of people expected a lot out of me," he said. "That's why I tried to give them what they wanted to see. I felt I had to do something outrageous and make something happen. I put myself out of position on a lot of plays. I think I hurt myself."
Tinoisamoa, who shifted between playing the middle and weak side last year, has now moved permanently to the outside. He was expected to compete against Keani Alapa on the weak side, but when Joe Correia missed practice time because of a sore ankle, Tinoisamoa played on the strong side (opposite the tight end) during the recently completed training camp.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said Tinoisamoa will be used at both outside linebacker positions, and will play linebacker when the Warriors employ five or six defensive backs.
"He's been having a good preseason," Lempa said.
Tinoisamoa said his improved play is traced to sensible eating habits. The 220-pound Tinoisamoa lost 15 pounds by cutting out plate lunches. But he said he cannot afford to embrace assistant coach Vantz Singletary's low-fat sandwich diet.
"On a college student's budget, it's not really the best thing to go to Subway (Sandwiches) for every meal," said Tinoisamoa, who eats at the dormitory cafeteria. "I'm on the Marriott meal plan."
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• Scholarships: University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones has awarded football scholarships to cornerback Hyrum Peters, outside linebacker Keani Alapa and defensive lineman Brett Clowers.
"They have all earned it," said Jones, noting each scholarship is valued at up to $15,000 a year.
The three players joined the UH program as walk-ons. Peters is projected to start at boundary cornerback; Alapa is listed as the No. 1 weak-side linebacker; and Clowers is a strong contributor on the defensive line and on special teams.
NCAA Division I teams are limited to 85 scholarship players each year. In addition, NCAA rules require a two-year waiting period, starting when a player graduates from high school, before a walk-on is eligible to receive a full football scholarship.
Jones said he offers scholarships to walk-on players if "they have the potential to start for us or contribute on special teams."
Several UH starters — including wideout Ashley Lelie, safeties Jacob Espiau and Nate Jackson, and center Brian Smith — joined the program as walk-ons and now are on scholarship.
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• Growth spurt: Hawai'i's roster, limited by the NCAA to 105 during training camp, is allowed to expand beginning with today's start of one-a-day practices.
One of the additions is Kealii Aguiar, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation's Defensive Player of the Year in 1998.
The 6-foot-1, 295-pound Aguiar, who is a 1999 Waimea High graduate, was an offensive lineman at Dixie (Utah) College the past two years. He met with UH coaches last week.
"I want to give it a shot," Aguiar said.
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• Boot camp: Until Aaron Bennet joined the team as a walk-on two weeks ago, Justin Ayat was the Warriors' only placekicker.
During the offseason, Ayat practiced alone, using a specially produced plastic brace to keep the football in an upright position. Most times, he had to retrieve his kicks.
"There was nobody else around," he said.
UH does not have a kicking coach, so Ayat has fine-tuned his style by watching videotapes of other kickers and "a lot of trial and error."
"I'm self-taught, I guess," he said.
Ayat, who redshirted as a freshman last year, has made the adjustment from kicking off a tee, which is allowed in high school.
During training camp, Ayat worked on kicking from the different hashmarks. His strength — he can bench press 400 pounds — and kicking power were never a concern. On Saturday, he converted a field goal from 50 yards.
"I feel really good about him," Jones said. "From what he's shown me in practice, he has a lot of ability. He has a chance, in four years, to make a name for himself."
