For elite high school football players in Hawaii, often there is an inner struggle when it comes to their college future.
Should they stay home and play for the school they grew up with, or should they challenge themselves, stretch their comfort zone and leave paradise for the mainland?
Hau’oli Jamora could feel both choices tugging at him when he was a standout senior defensive end at Kahuku High School.
On one side, there was the University of Hawaii asking him to come and play not only for the school, but also for all the people born and raised in the island state.
“Everybody loves Hawaii football,” Jamora said. “All my family and friends are into it. When I was a little kid, I wanted to play for UH. We went and saw them all the time and watched them on TV.”
And yet, those closest to Jamora – his family and close friends – were telling him to leave and explore what the world outside the islands had to offer.
“They pushed to go somewhere else, to leave and become a man and be on my own,” he said.
But it isn’t easy leaving the islands. It’s a different life, lived at a different pace. And it’s not like you can go home when you have a weekend off.
“Within ourselves, there’s something that makes us want to stay within our comfort zone and with our family and friends,” Jamora said. “It’s hard to get away from that.”
Yet Jamora did leave, and ended up in Seattle with the Huskies. Today, he will go against Hawaii, the team he dreamed of playing for when he was a kid.
How close was he to being on the Warriors’ sideline for the game?
Well, Jamora started out thinking he might want to play for Hawaii, but the Warriors weren’t so sure about Jamora. While teams such as BYU, Utah and Washington showed early interest, Hawaii did not.
“I just wasn’t blowing up early in my high school years,” he said of the Warriors’ lack of interest. “I don’t know.”
All that changed his senior season.
He was named the state’s defensive player of the year by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the state’s co-defensive player of the year by the Honolulu Advertiser.
Washington coach Steve Sarkisian grinned while remembering what he saw in Jamora back in high school.
“Exactly what we see today,” Sarkisian said. “He’s an amazing effort guy. It was just down after down. He was relentless that way. We also saw the talent – the speed, the strength – but it was always the effort that jumped out.”
And Jamora rewarded the Huskies’ relentless recruiting effort, even after Hawaii had shown interest and he had given an oral commitment to BYU.
Hawaii’s and BYU’s loss turned out to be a major gain for Washington. Jamora played in every game last season as a true freshman and racked up 49 tackles, eight for loss. In the Holiday Bowl against Nebraska, he had four tackles – three for loss and one sack.
Jamora admits there will be some motivation today.
“There’s a little bit,” he said. “Yeah I was a little disappointed they didn’t recruit me right away. It’s all good now. It was still ultimately my choice. I could have went there. I’m not angry at them.”
Will it be weird? Of course.
Is he nervous? Yes, in a way.
“I have a lot of family coming out,” he said.
Indeed, Jamora’s brother-in-law is Hawaii standout senior linebacker Corey Paredes.
“And being from Hawaii, I feel like I have to show up and I can’t embarrass myself out there,” Jamora said.
He certainly didn’t embarrass himself last week in Washington’s less than stellar win over Eastern Washington. He was one of the few defensive players who played well with 71/2 tackles, two tackles for loss and the team’s only sack.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
HUSKIES GAMEDAY
HAWAII (1-0) AT WASHINGTON (1-0)
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m., Husky Stadium.
TV: Root Sports. Radio: 950-AM.
The series: Hawaii leads, 2-1. The Warriors won the last meeting, 35-28, in 2007 on Oahu.
What to watch: Everyone wants to see if UW’s secondary, which was torched for 473 yards passing by Eastern last week, can stop an even better passing attack led by Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz. The return of Quinton Richardson should help. The Huskies figure to be playing the nickel package extensively with Richardson, Desmond Trufant and Greg Ducre all on the field. The Huskies also need to generate a pass rush outside the efforts of Hau’oli Jamora. They are going up against an offensive line that has all of one game of experience – with last year’s entire offensive line gone. Moniz has shown he can run the ball. Offensively, expect UW to take more shots down the field. The Huskies had just one pass over 10 yards last week. But ideally, they’ll use Chris Polk to grind the game down and keep Hawaii’s offense off the field. If this game gets into a shootout, the Huskies could be in trouble.
What’s at stake: This is a game UW should win. But it isn’t about just winning; it’s about the team’s psyche. UW needs to show it’s as good as people projected. For Hawaii, a win would mean two straight victories over Pac-12 teams – a solid addition to a bowl résumé.
The pick: Washington 31, Hawaii 28.
PRIME NUMBERS
HAWAII
1Aaron Brown (OLB)6-1225Senior
Puyallup grad missed opener (suspension). Adds speed to defense.
17Bryant Moniz (QB)6-0205Senior
Not just a “system” QB. Threw for 5,040 yards, 39 TDs last season.
30Joey Iosefa (RB)6-0240Freshman
A load to tackle and surprisingly fast.
41Corey Paredes (MLB)6-0235Senior
Leader of an improved, physical defense. Plays bigger than he is.
81Royce Pollard (WR)6-1175Senior
Leading returning receiver wows with catching ability, not speed.
WASHINGTON
1Chris Polk (RB)5-11222Junior
Said his health was 70-80 percent last week. UW needs him at 100.
15Jermaine Kearse (WR)6-2208Senior
Has shown no ill effects after leaving first game with ankle injury.
17Keith Price (QB)6-1195Sophomore
Looked good despite sprained knee but needs to be even better.
28Quinton Richardson (CB)6-0203Senior
Returns after watching his fellow DBs get torched by Eastern.
93Andrew Hudson (DE)6-3231Freshman
Gets chance to show what he can do to help struggling pass rush.
Ryan Divish, staff writer
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