Posted on: Thursday, February 3, 2005
Recruiting hole UH must patch
| • | UH secures cornerback |
| • | Signing day a rite of passage |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Today's national letter of intent trivia question is: How many high school seniors from Kahuku, Kamehameha Schools and Saint Louis School signed with the University of Hawai'i football team yesterday?
The answer, however, is anything but trivial: zero.
Those three schools produced 13 Division I-A high school scholarship recipients yesterday — none of whom signed on UH's dotted line.
Instead, they found their way to Air Force, Brigham Young, California, New Mexico State, Oregon State, San Diego State and Utah.
If you are UH, you have to be concerned. Or, should be. What you don't want — and can't afford — is for this year's head-shaking aberration to turn into a trend.
Not when Kahuku, Kamehameha and Saint Louis account for the last 19 large school state championships or Prep Bowl titles. Not when a year in the Fred von Appen era was the only time UH has been blanked across on those three campuses since 1989.
Indeed, the most-recent UH seniors remind us of just how prominent a part those three schools have played in the Warriors' recent success. UH signed a combined 10 players from those schools in its 2000 recruiting crop, a group that included Justin Ayat, Tim Chang, Leonard Peters and Gerald Welch, all of whom played a significant part in the 36-17 record over the last four years.
And, yes, there are certainly some contributory factors at work here. Saint Louis, with just two D-I signees, didn't have its usual depth. There was more competition than ever before with Mainland schools taking a record 20 recruits locally. UH appears to have done particularly well on the Mainland and carved some new niches locally. Not all the prospects fit what the Warriors were looking for or were offered scholarships. (Inoke Funaki, a 2002 Kahuku graduate and Viliami Nauahi, an 2003 Kahuku alum, previously signed with UH and will come aboard this year.)
Still, the shutout is puzzling. At Kahuku, most especially. Just two years ago UH finally succeeded in getting its foot in the North Shore door after limited success. Now, it has been slammed, again.
The loss of Kahuku defensive back Al Afalava (Oregon State) and Saint Louis defensive lineman Tyson Alualu (Cal), in particular, had to hurt. Not only were both among the top five or so players in the state and at positions where UH can use immediate help but both were, by extension, members of the Warrior family. They had relatives who starred at UH: Kesi Afalava (1979-83) and Tupu Alualu (1993-95).
The recruiting philosophy that has produced the most success for UH over the years has been to get the top local players and fill in the holes with the best from the Mainland.
As such, the 0-for-the-Big Three is something for UH to think long and hard about. It is something that needs to be addressed for the next recruiting cycle.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
