WARRIORS FOOTBALL
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Dylan Linkner is hitting the weights hard this summer in an attempt to win a starting position at wide receiver this season for new UH coach Greg McMackin.
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Senior Linkner is willing to work
Dylan Linkner busses tables at a restaurant in Waikiki. After summer school, he works an 8-hour shift, finishing at midnight, and is up at 5 the next morning so he can get from his Kailua home in time for early-morning workouts at the University of Hawaii.
Bussing tables is like stocking shelves at a drug store, which Linkner has also done. It is solid, honest work -- but often difficult and tedious and not prestigious. You are an assistant to a server, your main job setting up and clearing tables. You are a half-rung above the dishwasher.
Twice this summer while at work, Linkner was recognized as a UH football player and was asked to pose for photographs and sign autographs.
It's a perfect example of the paradoxical and hypocritical nature of college sports.
Linkner thinks about such things, but he doesn't dwell on them. He's too busy trying to earn a starting wide receiver position and scholarship as he heads into his senior season.
"Our restaurant has a lot of Japanese tourists, so when that happens, they're looking and wondering, 'Who's that?' This one guy says, 'I remember when you almost scored that touchdown against USC.' Talk about a hard-core fan," Linkner said. "Some people say 'What are you doing bussing?' I explain I'm a regular person trying to make ends meet."
He understands though, that there is a segment of the Hawaii population that will never view him as such. As down-to-earth as this walk-on is, he is familiar with celebrity. Has been since he was a child.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Dylan Linkner, foreground, did a drill with fellow UH receiver Aaron Bain last week.
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Linkner's father, Jim, is an award-winning sound engineer with a long history of working with local recording artists.
Willie K and Keali'i Reichel to us are Uncle Willie and Uncle Keali'i to Dylan Linkner.
"When you meet them when you're a little kid, it's like, 'This is blah, blah, blah,' and you're like OK, but you don't really understand who they are. For me, it wasn't really like an awe-ing experience. It was more like, this is just my dad's friend. And they're down-to-earth, like any normal guy off the street.
"Recently one person I've been seeing a lot because he's been doing a lot of stuff on Oahu is Willie K. That guy's the most impressive instrument player I've ever seen. Then you see him after the show and he's the most regular, cool guy. Keali'i Reichel, just this guy from Maui who wanted to play music. Then he blew up, and everybody''s like, 'Man, I can't believe you know him.'"
Dylan is a musician himself, taking on the rare double of football player and trombone player while at Kailua High School.
"I can say I'm knowledgeable about music. I'm not very good at singing. I played high school band, trombone. I felt I did pretty good in high school band, but nothing like I could come to college and play," he said. "Henry Fu, the band director, he understood I couldn't be good at everything.
"People think band is for dorks, but he would tell us about music theory and how music relates to life. Not only through football, but through band you learn discipline. To get good at a song, you've got to practice. Through high school I would say Henry Fu was my mentor and a guy I wanted to live up to. To me, he's one of the top teachers in the state, not just band. He takes the extra time to help you solve things."
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Linkner, left, worked out with teammate Spencer Smith last week. Linkner is in the running to be a starting receiver.
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Linkner does the same, sharing his experience with the Hawaii pass routes with younger receivers, even though it works against his goal of gaining a starting spot. Receivers coach and offensive coordinator Ron Lee has noticed this and appreciates it.
"His teammates love and respect him for it. He never complains, never takes a day off," Lee said. "He's always trying to improve, but he knows his role."
That role expanded during spring practice, when Linkner was No. 1 on the depth chart at right wide receiver after Malcolm Lane was injured. He will get a chance to regain it again in fall camp, or at least get into a playing rotation -- especially if he cuts 5 pounds as the coaches have requested.
"College sports is speed. Everyone can work on their speed. I know that's one thing I need to do. I'm not the fastest guy out there, so that's my biggest thing," said Linkner, who is known for good hands and good route running.
It may not be enough to get him on the field a lot this fall. But if Linkner were going to give up, he would have years ago.
"Some guys, I know, in my situation would get discouraged. I know some who have quit or wanted to transfer. For me it's like football is my love, football is my passion. I love the sport. I'm hoping after I graduate to do something in football like broadcasting," the communications major said. "To me it's just a love for it. I come out here, it's the brotherhood, all these guys. After college you step into the world, you have to start real life. I think of it as you can still have your fun before you step into real life."