Peters pays tribute to late brother
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hyrum Peters does not have specific memories of an older brother who passed away long ago. But from what he has been told of Teave Peters, Hyrum knows he wants to emulate him.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Teave would have had a lot to be proud of last night as his younger brother's 28-yard interception return for a touchdown ignited a second-period outburst to lead Hawai'i to a 61-36 victory against Eastern Illinois at Aloha Stadium.
Hawai'i safety Hyrum Peters, right, is joined by Sean Butts in the end zone after Peters returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown. Peters also batted down a pass in the end zone and had a sack.
"It felt good," said Hyrum, a junior safety. "It reminded me of my brother who passed away. I dedicated that one (touchdown) to him. That's why I'm wearing his number (33)."
Teave died in a car accident in his preteen years, when Hyrum was about 4. Hyrum said he had heard that Teave was a good football player in Pop Warner and wanted to be like him.
When Hyrum turned 18, he had a large inscription of his brother's name tattooed on his back. With his brother literally behind him, Peters knows he will always be at his best.
"I'm wearing the same shoes as him (playing the same sport)," Peters said. "I want to be just like him.
"I was told that I looked just like him," Hyrum said. "He was one of those players you put on the field and he made the plays."
Kind of like what Hyrum did last night. Besides the interception return — his first for a touchdown in his UH career — he sacked Panthers' quarterback Tony Romo for a 5-yard loss on a crucial third-and-1 at the UH 47 early in the second quarter. The Panthers were forced to punt and the Warriors responded on their ensuing series with touchdown that game them a 23-13 lead. The sack was the result of a designed safety blitz, where Peters came from the right and blindsided Romo.
The sack was one of nine total tackles, which was 1 1/2 behind game-leader linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa. Peters also was credited with breaking up two passes.
Against Brigham Young in last season's finale, Peters had his first and only interception of the year. He was playing cornerback then. This year, the Warriors moved him to safety to take advantage of his experience and athleticism.
He said the view as a safety is different from playing corner.
"You can see the whole field and you can make more plays," he said.
There was no hesitation in changing Peters from corner to safety, secondary coach Rich Miano said.
"I've always felt that he's one corner that could make the adjustment because he's smart, tackles well," Miano said. "He plays linebacker in some situations. And he can cover. We blitz so much (and) we play so much man coverage that he's a natural. With some corners, we can't do that."
