UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOOTBALL
Ostrowski commits to UH football
The All-State receiver will play football for Hawaii
It was, in Miah Ostrowski's words, just a "cruise day."
Of course, when the Star-Bulletin's offensive player of the year gives a university a commitment, there's a little more to it than that.
Ostrowski, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior slotback at Punahou, gave Hawaii an oral commitment to play football yesterday morning. That in itself is not a surprise, since only one other school (Northern Arizona) had offered the shifty, playmaking receiver a football scholarship.
With 81 receptions for 1,317 yards and nine touchdowns, Ostrowski was the go-to receiver in Punahou's run-and-shoot offense. His ability and performance were enough to make UH coach June Jones eager to corral Ostrowski.
The two-sport standout called UH assistant coach Rich Miano with his decision yesterday at 8:30 a.m. The decision made sense long ago for Ostrowski, but he was patient.
"I didn't want to push too early a decision," he said.
Basketball is still his first love. The two-time All-State selection hopes to walk on as a freshman at UH, depending on whether next year's new coach will allow him to try out. Ostrowski already has the support of Jones, who likes two-sport athletes.
"I didn't talk to Coach Jones yet about everything, but from what we talked about before, I'm probably gonna redshirt my first year," Ostrowski said of football.
The success on the gridiron, and UH's keen interest, still surprises him a bit.
"I didn't really think that I could do it. A lot of people who have experience with the game told me that, so that's why I thought I could give it a try," he said.
On the hardwood, Ostrowski defies conventional thinking. Despite his stature, he is a tough penetrator, both in the prep and open-league levels. He played in the NCAA Summer League in recent years and more than held his own.
"Probably going into my junior year is when I gained the most confidence playing with Artie (Wilson) and his team (Electricians Hawaii)," Ostrowski said.
Montana State offered a basketball scholarship, while Santa Clara, Air Force, Texas State and Cal Poly showed interest.
Legay chooses Warriors:
Kealakehe offensive lineman Levi Legay made his oral commitment to accept a scholarship to play for the UH football team on Sunday.
"They really welcomed me there," said the 6-3, 270-pound Legay about the visit last weekend. "It's really a great football team and it will be great to be a part of that. It's a close-knit team. One big family over there."
Legay played center and tackle for the Waveriders and is projected as a center for the Warriors. He also said it's possible he may play guard.
"He's very intelligent and has good balance, good feet and a nice center of gravity," said Sam Papalii, who coached Legay at Kealakehe for three years. "He has all the intangibles and a bright future. He's the kind of guy you want to be making the calls for you. He gets good grades and that's why Stanford was recruiting him for a while."
Legay will be joining Waveriders running back Gabe Tuata, who previously committed to the Warriors, at UH.