For the goodwill trip to American Samoa, a group of football coaches and current and former players are delivering boxes of medical supplies, equipment and uniforms.

Reagan Mauia is bringing hope.

"I want to show the kids there that anything is possible," said Mauia, now the Miami Dolphins' starting fullback.

Mauia has paid full tuition to the School of Hard Knocks. In 2005, he joined the University of Hawai'i football team as a 360-pound nose tackle. He did not receive a football scholarship that season.

"Man, those were tough times," said Mauia, who took out loans, received financial aid and worked to pay for his UH tuition and help support his son.

Near the end of the 2005 season, he moved to running back and made a commitment to physical fitness. He weighed 295 pounds when he reported to spring training in March 2006.

Sharing the running back's job with Nate Ilaoa, Mauia had a productive 2006 season. That merited selection, by the Dolphins, in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. Mauia, despite suffering a fracture in his left hand in the final preseason game, played in all 16 games, starting nine times.

To reach the NFL, Mauia said, "I struggled. When you want something so bad in life, you'll do whatever it takes to get it. You keep at it and you keep at it. You don't give up. If it's in your heart, go for it. That's what I want to show those kids (in American Samoa)."

Mauia, who is 6 feet, now weighs 270 pounds. He said his body fat is 9.6 percent.

He also will relate his story of overcoming adversity and mistakes. In April, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery.

"Can't talk about it now," Mauia said. "I hope you understand."

Instead, he emphasized his message of fulfilling a childhood dream.

"Playing in the pros was my dream," Mauia said. "I remember a teacher told me to stand up and say what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said: 'An NFL player.' ... This is what I wanted all of my life. I didn't want to be a lawyer. I didn't want to be a teacher. I didn't want to be anything else but a pro player, and I'm here today as testimony."

Mauia said his passion for football could be traced to his father, a former rugby player.

"I used to go with him to my uncle's house to watch the football games," Mauia recalled. "I didn't understand it. I thought there were bricks (instead of shoulder pads) under their jerseys. Just to see how football made my dad so happy, I wanted to do that for him. I wanted to play football so he could watch and enjoy it."

Mauia said this three-day trip, which includes a clinic co-produced by coaches from Southern Methodist and Hawai'i, completes his life's circle. Until he was 10, Mauia lived in American Samoa, a territory in which there is no Pop Warner program and the high school football teams share a rugby field.

"I'm glad I can help," he said.

That passion is shared by SMU's June Jones, who was UH's head coach the previous nine seasons, and his successor, Greg McMackin.

A few years ago, Jones decided he wanted to establish a football clinic in American Samoa. UH had successfully recruited players from American Samoa, including Isa'ako Sopoaga, Melila Purcell III, Amani Purcell, Larry Sauafea and Keith AhSoon.

The spark, Jones said, came from a meeting several years ago with High Paramount Chief Letuli Letuli, who died in 2006.

"We sat around and talked all night," Jones said. "I saw so many things. I heard the stories. It was a connection right away."

Jones and McMackin decided to lead a group that included Mauia, Purcell and Jesse Sapolu, a UH alum who won four Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers.

Then Ellie Taft, wife of former UH assistant coach Jeff Reinebold, asked Jones if it would be possible to bring over doctors and deliver medical supplies.

"There is so much need down there in some of the emergency areas," Jones said.

Jones said about 550 athletes and 100 coaches will attend the football clinic.

The June Jones Foundation will award five $2,000 scholarships that may be used at any U.S. college.

"It's a way to give back," Jones said. "I want to give back to those kids."

Visit his blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.