DeFries is voice of reason for Utah
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Utah coach Urban Meyer calls 62-year-old Hiram DeFries the "stabilizing voice" on the Utes football team.
DeFries, a former standout athlete in Hawai'i, works as a community liaison for the Utes.
DEFRIES
He is responsible for making sure the players do well in school. He also helps in finding summer jobs for them.
"He's a guy they talk to," Meyer said. "He walks the walk and talks the talk."
In the late 1950s, DeFries was an all-league center at Punahou, and he went on to play at Colorado State. He was also an outfielder for the Punahou baseball team.
Homegrown Home & Away chronicles feats of college athletes here and away. If you know of former Hawai'i high school athletes deserving of recognition, give us their names, high schools and graduation years, colleges and sports. E-mail us at homegrown@honoluluadvertiser.com or contact Leila Wai at 535-2457. Homegrown appears every Wednesday in The Honolulu Advertiser.
It was at Colorado State where DeFries and Meyer met, and they have been best friends since then, according to Meyers.
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Meyer, who has led the No. 25 Utes to a 9-2 record (6-1 in the Mountain West Conference), is in his first year at Utah. He brought DeFries in to help out the program.
"He's a stabilizing voice, someone they talk to. He stands for all the right things," Meyer said.
DeFries, who was born in Kalihi, retired in March as the general manager of Equillon Enterprises LLC, a joint venture of Shell Oil Company and Texaco.
The 1959 Punahou graduate received his law degree from Western State University in Fullerton, Calif., in the 1970s, and specialized in petroleum, real estate and environmental law.
"He's a role model for the players," Meyer said. "It helps that they can see one of their own as a lawyer, a parent, a coach."
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
