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Gouveia achieved a football triple crown

Learn about Hawai'i sports history and those who figured prominently in it in this feature. We'll ask a question Wednesday and present the answer in an in-depth profile on Thursday.

Q: This person is the only Hawai'i high school graduate to play on football championship teams in high school, the NCAA Division I and the NFL. Who is he?		A: Kurt Gouveia played for football championship teams at Wai'anae High School, Brigham Young University and the Washington Redskins.

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Once a UH nemesis while at BYU, Kurt Gouveia is now a student assistant with the Warrior football team. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Too slow to play football for the University of Hawai'i.

Too slow for the NFL.

Even after he was tackled shy of the goal line on an interception return, "they said I was too slow. Everybody jokes about that. I was too slow to get into the end zone."

That interception came on football's biggest stage — the Super Bowl.

And it set up a touchdown that helped the Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-24.

Look who's laughing now.

"I'm very proud, very fortunate and blessed to have the type of career that I had," said Gouveia, 37.

Gouveia pulled off a unique triple in Hawai'i football. He played on championship teams in high school, college and the NFL.

As a junior in 1980, he started at safety and helped Wai'anae High School earn a co-championship with Iolani in the O'ahu Prep Bowl.

In 1984, he played linebacker for NCAA champion Brigham Young University.

In 1988 and 1992, he was a linebacker of the Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.

He ended up playing 13 years in the NFL, starting every game in the 1993, 1995 and 1996 seasons.

"He was a great hitter. He could hit from his safety position. He was out of position in high school," said Leo Taaca, Wai'anae's athletic director who coached football at the school for 28 years.

Double duty

He said playing quarterback helped his mobility and improve his footwork.

"I have great memories, great coaches who coached me in high school," Gouveia said. "Larry Ginoza was a great coach and a very understanding coach and guided me through and helped me mature to go on to the next level."

Ginoza, then Wai'anae's head coach, remembers Gouveia as being "athletic ... tough as nails ... having good football sense and what you call field speed."

But it was his hand-timed, straightaway speed — said to be 4.9 over 40 yards in a then 6-foot-1, 188-pound frame — that turned off college recruiters.

Blessing in disguise

"He mentioned he wanted to stay home (at UH)," recalled Taaca. "Someone from BYU contacted (us) and asked, 'What's wrong with him?' and we said, 'Nothing.' And that was the start of his career."

Gouveia said getting overlooked "was a blessing in disguise. I took my opportunity to go away and better my career, actually further my career in football and then that's how it turned out.

"I look back and tell myself that I was very fortunate and blessed to go through that avenue of life."

Even after a solid career at BYU, Gouveia, still 6-1 but now 240 pounds, wasn't coveted by many NFL teams. He was selected by Washington in the eighth round (213th pick overall) of the 1986 draft.

"I was surprised he made it into the NFL, but then not that surprised," Ginoza said.

"All I can say is the biggest muscle in your body is your heart and I had that," Gouveia said. "I had the will to succeed ... I worked hard for it. I wanted to make a success of myself.

"They say I was slow, I was small, not strong enough. But that's all stats. That's all on paper. It's what you put on the football field and what kind of heart you have."

Proud to be a Warrior

Gouveia's NFL highlights came during the 1992 playoffs when he intercepted a pass in each of the three playoff games, capped by his Super Bowl pick.

"No one can express the feeling unless you've been involved with that type of event," he said.

"And it was unbelievable. The first one I really didn't grasp the excitement. The second one, being in the Minneapolis dome against the Buffalo Bills and then to come out in the second half and make an interception and make an impact in the game. ... It really gave me a lot of experiences that I can remember and treasure."

Ironically, Gouveia is back in Hawai'i as a student assistant at UH, working toward a degree and helping the team he helped beat.

"My alliance is with Hawai'i now because I'm here going to school and I know the kids and they're allowing me to be part of the team.

"But I'm proud to be a Warrior and be a part of this team."