Of the 10 players the Dolphins selected in the NFL Draft, two are from the University of Hawai'i, a fact not lost on Harvey Fialkov, an NFL reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Center Samson Satele was chosen in the second round and running back Reagan Mauia in the sixth round. (Left tackle Tala Esera agreed to a free agent deal with the Dolphins.)

Fialkov's observations and comments:

"The previous Dolphins regime favored Southeastern Conference teams for filling its drafting needs such as recent picks Jason Allen (Tennessee), Ronnie Brown (Auburn), Channing Crowder (Florida) and Travis Daniels (LSU).

Farewell SEC, Aloha WAC via the Hawaiian-Samoan pipeline.

Dolphins coach Cam Cameron and General Manager Randy Mueller plucked three of their 10 draft picks from the Polynesian Triangle, including two distant cousins from the University of Hawai'i — 311-pound center/guard Samson Satele in the second round and mammoth fullback Reagan Mauia in the sixth — in hopes of adding power and bulk to the offense.

They also drafted 6-foot-4, 334-pound Pago Pago native Paul Soliai, an American Samoan from the University of Utah, in the fourth round to compete with second-year defensive tackle Fred Evans for playing time behind nose tackle Keith Traylor, 37.

"We found out that Hawaii does produce some good players and they like playing," Mueller said after a draft that included five players from UH, a program that has 10 players already on NFL rosters. "They're very close and as you know their culture is one of passion and caring ... and those are good team-building identities that we want."