Kalilimoku emerges as impact player for Warriors

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

As his passion for power-red fashion will attest, Hawai'i middle linebacker Chad Kalilimoku has developed a color-me-bad attitude.

UH head football coach June Jones calls linebacker Chad Kalilimoku a special player who gives the Warriors an "unbelievable toughness." He is expected to ease the loss of three starters — Chris Brown, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Matt Wright — who completed their eligibility. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I always carry red with me," said Kalilimoku, who stands out at UH practice because of his red jersey underneath his UH uniform. "Maybe I'm superstitious. In all my years of playing football I wore the color red."

Kalilimoku said the color reminds him about the road he took to the Warriors. All the teams he has played on before the Warriors have featured the color red.

"When I played football for Punchbowl (Pop Warner), we wore red," said Kalilimoku, a junior. "At Roosevelt High School, we wore red. At Santa Ana College (Calif.), it was red. It was my color I liked."

As it is now, Kalilimoku stops for red, but rarely anything else, including opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers.

"He's smart, he has great reads and he will hit you when he gets there," said associate head coach George Lumpkin, who coaches the UH linebackers. "He gets there with a bad attitude. That's what you need. He leads by example. That's what we like about him."

Lumpkin praised the 5-foot-11, 243-pound Kalilimoku for his work ethic and passion for the game.

"He's a lot quicker and a lot faster this year," Lumpkin said. "He's really worked hard in the weight room. He enjoys the game and has a lot of fun. He'll be fine."

Hawai'i coach June Jones called Kalilimoku a special player who gives the Warriors an "unbelievable toughness."

"He's very physical," Jones said. "He's a good linebacker. I think he has a chance to be an impact player in the conference this year. He has all the tools. As long as he pays attention to detail and does the little things in preparing himself, I think there's no reason why he can't be an all-WAC performer."

Coaches expect Kalilimoku to anchor the linebacker unit and ease the loss of three starters — Chris Brown, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Matt Wright — who completed their eligibility.

"Playing middle linebacker comes with a lot of responsibility," Kalilimoku said. "You're there to hype up the crowd. You're the person who is supposed to make hits, make plays and inspire everybody else on your defense."

After an award-winning prep career at Roosevelt, Kalilimoku attended the University of Missouri, but said he didn't get a chance to play. He returned home and began working at Kapolei Safeway.

"I didn't think I had a chance to play at the Division I level, so I just decided to work and start my life," Kalilimoku said.

But his father, Fredrick, and a friend, persuaded Kalilimoku to give football a second chance.

"They said they saw potential in me," Kalilimoku said.

Kalilimoku landed at Santa Ana College in California, where he started two years at middle linebacker. He was named second team junior college All-American by J.C. Grid-Wire in 2001 and also was a two-time first team all-state Region IV and all-conference selection.

Santa Ana coach Dave Ogas gushed that Kalilimoku "had a phenomenal two-year run. He's as good a linebacker as we've had in my 26 years here."

Hawai'i coaches noticed Kalilimoku and quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison recruited him for the Warriors.

"My goal was looking to come here to the University of Hawai'i because I wanted to play here since I was young," Kalilimoku said. "Since I was a youngster — Al Noga's days — I always used to watch. Besides I wanted to play at home in front of the local people."

Since arriving at UH last year, Kalilimoku has adopted the traditional colors of the Warriors.

"It's a new fresh team to play with," Kalilimoku said. "My colors have been green from now on."