But one thing he's been able to count on is the spirit of "ohana," which, in the Polynesian culture, stresses the significance of family - immediate family, extended family, even friends and fellow islanders.

It's one reason Amani Purcell, who was recruited out of American Samoa all the way to Penn State, will be starting at defensive end Tuesday for undefeated Hawaii as it takes on Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

It's also a reason Hercules Satele, who is Purcell's cousin but grew up in Long Beach, Calif., and was recruited by various West Coast schools, chose Hawaii and will be a starting guard Tuesday.

Purcell, a 6-4, 277-pound senior, redshirted a year and played as a reserve one season for Joe Paterno in Happy Valley, then decided to transfer to Hawaii so he could be closer to his mother in Samoa.

"My father (Melila, an Army reservist) had been sent to Iraq," Purcell says. "I'm the youngest son, and I just felt I needed to be able to be near home to take care of my mother (Moana). My dad came back the next year, and I needed to take care of him a little bit, too, while he recuperated from some surgery."

Purcell sat out the 2005 season, attending classes at Hawaii but unable to play alongside his older brother, Mel, then a junior defensive end for the Warriors and now a rookie with the Cleveland Browns.

On weekends, he flew home to his mother - not your typical college commute.

"It's about five hours, like flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles," he says. "My mother works for an airline, so I was able to fly a lot."

Last season, Purcell joined his brother on the Warriors' defense. This year, while his brother has moved on to the NFL, Purcell still has a handful of relatives on the team. That includes Satele, a 6-2, 288-pound senior who was born in Hawaii but was raised in Southern California. When it came time to pick a college, he was drawn to the islands. And when he got to Honolulu, he felt like he was home.

"Being part of this team is like being part of a big family," he says. "It's been a blessing."

Satele even grew his hair long, as many other players of Polynesian descent do. "It just seemed like the thing to do here," he says. "I haven't cut it in three years."

In addition to the Purcell brothers, Satele is related to Samson Satele, a former Warrior now playing center for the Miami Dolphins, and Brashton Satele, a Hawaii reserve linebacker whose father, Alvis Satele, played for Hawaii and the San Diego Chargers.

The Polynesian family trees are broad. When Purcell transferred to Hawai'i, he discovered a couple of cousins on the team he hadn't known. And he found a lot of friends who seemed like family.

"It's like we're all brothers," he says. "Having cousins on the team is nice, but the feeling would be the same even if we weren't related."

Jones tries to capitalize on those feelings. The number of native Hawaiians and players of Polynesian descent has steadily grown in his nine years as coach. That group now is more than half of the roster.

"The connection to the culture means a lot to these players," Jones says.

Five years ago, Jones' players began a tradition of doing a pregame "haka" — a traditional Polynesian dance involving chanting and posturing, basically a call to action in the tradition of island warriors.

All the Warriors do it - Samoans and Hawaiians, whites and blacks, Californians and Texans. Even All-America quarterback Colt Brennan. Most Hawai'i opponents have seen it enough that they aren't intimidated by the dance. Who knows what Georgia will think of it?

Jones, who played and coached pro football in Atlanta, encourages his players to "haka" their hearts out. "It's really created an interest among Polynesian (recruits) on the mainland," Jones says.