Over the past few years, dozens of Hawai'i prep football players have left the comforts of home for Corvallis, Ore., and the Oregon State Beavers.

"I think it's because of the Pac-10, the conference we are in," said sophomore safety Suaesi Tuimaunei, a 2006 Kahuku graduate. "And a lot of my friends were already on the team. It makes things easier, because there are a lot of people and it makes it feel like home."

He also liked his coaches, calling them "nice, down-to-earth guys."

Redshirt freshman cornerback Brandon Hardin (Kamehameha 2007) said it was the contrast from his Honolulu home that drew him there.

"For me, ironically, it was the change," said Hardin, who starts on special teams. "It's totally different from home. For some it may be a turnoff, but for me it was somewhat of an attraction.

"It was a sad choice for me to leave home, but I feel it turned out for the best."

The Beavers with 16 players from Hawai'i on their roster — open their home season hosting the University of Hawai'i this Saturday.

The game is available live at 10 a.m. Hawai'i time, via pay-per-view on Oceanic digital channel 255 via Fox Sports Net.

"I miss Hawai'i, but the people here are nice," Tuimaunei said. "It's a pretty good place to live. It's cheap — no tax. but I definitely want to go home after (I graduate)."

Oregon State is 0-2 with losses to Stanford, 36-28, and Penn State, 45-14.

"I'm just excited to play at home; we don't have to travel across the country to play," Tuimaunei said. Secondary to that is the chance to play his home state's team.

"All my family is coming up to watch the game," he said.

His mom Cindy Betham and five younger siblings will watch him play college football for the first time.

"They are coming up because it's the UH game, and they get to watch both of us," he said. "It makes me want to play better."

Like Tuimaunei, Hardin's family is making the trip to Corvallis to watch him play for the first time. Fifteen family members, including his parents, sister, grandparents and aunts and uncles, are flying up.

"Basically all the Hawai'i players took up all the tickets," he said. "It's going to be special because I was the first kid (in the family) to get a college scholarship, and having them at home watching me in high school was awesome, so it's going to be great to play in front of them again."

The teams last met Dec. 2, 2006 at Aloha Stadium, with Oregon State winning, 35-32. Hawai'i has never played in Corvallis.

"Growing up in Hawai'i and watching UH football, they were a group of players that I always looked up to," Hardin said. "I get a chance to play against them, and I'm really excited to take on the Warriors, a group I idolized as a kid."

Both Tuimaunei and senior safety Al Afalava have five tackles this season. Other notable players from Hawai'i on the Beavers' rosters are offensive linemen Jeremy Perry and Tavita Thompson.

Perry, Thompson and Afalava have dealt with issues early in the season that kept them off the field.

Perry had surgery on his knee in the offseason, missing spring ball and the first two games.

Thompson was suspended last year by the NCAA for a full year and is eligible to play in Oregon State's Nov. 1 game against Arizona State.

Afalava was held out of the season opener while serving a one-game team suspension after pleading guilty to driving while under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving after driving his car into a bus shelter and leaving it there Feb. 9 of this year, according to the Gazette Times.

Tuimaunei filled in for Afalava against Stanford, earning his first collegiate start.

"It was pretty intense," he said. "I was kind of nervous going in, but after the first play, everything fell into place."