Thursday, July 22, 1999

Happy Campers

Fifteen Hawaii products head off
to NFL camp this week and next—
some with their jobs secure, others
hoping to win a spot

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

There are 15 players with Hawaii ties under contract as the first National Football League training camps opened this week.

There could be 16 if 13-year veteran linebacker Kurt Gouveia from Waianae is picked up as a free agent. He was not re-signed by the San Diego Chargers, where he started at middle linebacker the past three seasons.

Hawaii is represented on 11 NFL teams, with Denver and New Orleans each carrying three island players.

Until Gouveia signs, ninth-year nose tackle Esera Tuaolo of Waimanalo will be the senior member of the islands' NFL contingent. He signed yesterday with the Carolina Panthers.

The Hawaii high school that has the most alumni in the NFL is St. Louis with four. The college which produced the most NFL locals is BYU with three.

Seven of the 15 have been starters: four on defense, two on offense and one on special teams.

The local player to watch this season could be Itula Mili, who is now playing for a head coach in Seattle who appreciates what he can do.

Mili, the former Kahuku and BYU tight end, is finally 100 percent recovered from the serious knee injury he suffered in the 1996 WAC championship game. In mini-camp, he reportedly has looked a lot more like the agile, high-leaping, soft-handed behemoth he was as an All-WAC player.

Mili, who lost his rookie season due to the knee injury and had only one reception last year, should see the ball a lot under new head coach Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren likes tight ends and has produced some good ones with his offensive scheme: Keith Jackson and Mark Chmura in Green Bay and Brent Jones in San Francisco.

Mili and teammate Christian Fauria (37 receptions in 1998) could become high profile role players this season.

Defensive end Maa Tanuvasa has 17 sacks in the past two seasons for the two-time Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and has been the team's co-leader in that department for two years.

Quickness, strength and agility are his assets.

He must make the transition this season from the right side to the left side. But he is not expected to miss a step because he's been moving around the defensive line since 1997. That's when he made the move from right defensive tackle.

Former Rainbow kicker Jason Elam, who is a two-time Pro Bowler and owns a share of the NFL record for the longest field goal (63 yards), remains a lock with the Broncos.

He was second to Terrell Davis in scoring last year with 123 points.

Viliami Maumau got into the league last year as a seventh-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers.

But the Panthers released him and he found a job with Denver's practice squad.

Maumau, who at 6-2 is just as undersized as Tanuvasa on the defensive line, is on the Broncos' camp roster. He has received glowing compliments for his scrappiness from Denver linemen who have faced him.

But with Tanuvasa, Keith Traylor, Alfred Williams and company, he has his work cut out for him to make the team.

Pio Sagapolutele, an eighth-year NFL veteran, must battle his way back into contention for a starting job at defensive tackle (the left side is unsettled) with the New Orleans Saints after a year sidelined with an injury.

He started 13 of 14 games he played in 1997 at right defensive tackle.

The defensive line has become New Orleans' strongest suit, so the competition for jobs will be fierce.

Right guard Chris Naeole, a 1997 first-round pick, did not live up to expectations last season as a regular starter. But Naeole, who received precious little experience in his rookie year due to an injury, has plenty of incentive to improve this year. He finally has someone to block for - Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams.

Ink Aleaga, who came to the Saints as a free agent in 1997, will probably continue to back up team-leading tackler Mark Fields at weak side linebacker.

The Colts released kick returner Aaron Bailey and therein lies Kaipo McGuire's hope of nailing down a full-time NFL job this year.

McGuire, whose specialty is at wide receiver, hopes to be the fifth receiver kept by Indianapolis. He started a full season at wide receiver during the spring with the Barcelona Dragon in NFL Europe, finishing with a season-high four receptions in the World Bowl.

He has spent most of the last two seasons with the Colts' practice squad.

Although Leilehua product Adrian Murrell has amassed 4,489 yards in six NFL seasons as an artful dodger, he could have strong competition from the 6-foot, 224-pound Mike Pittman, a second-year pro.

But Murrell, who helped lead Arizona to an NFC wildcard playoff win over Dallas, is still expected to emerge as the Cardinals' main man in 1999.

Talk about competition.

Former Kailua High School star Joe Wong is among 16 offensive linemen checking into the Dolphins' camp.

Taken as the 244th pick in the seventh round last year, Wong has an uphill battle. He could be expected to play tackle or guard.

Kimo von Oelhoffen, Molokai's sixth-year NFL veteran, is expected to sign a healthy contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals this year after starting all 16 games last season at nose tackle.

But von Oelhoffen finds himself faced with an extremely tough challenge in training camp from free agent acquisition Oliver Gibson.

Gibson, the Notre Dame product who backed up Pro Bowler Joel Steed at Pittsburgh, had 15 tackles and two sacks last year in 16 games.

There are those who believe that Olin Kreutz's athleticism could earn him the starting nod over Casey Wiegmann at center for the Chicago Bears this season. He started in Chicago's last game of 1998 in his rookie season but coaches liked what they saw.

Kreutz can be an animal at center when he is on, and that's what Chicago needs.

Bruising running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala had some exciting runs for the Pittsburgh Steelers on national TV last season in both exhibition and regular season. He tied teammate Jerome Bettis for most touchdowns by a back, though touching the ball only 16 times and playing almost exclusively as a third-down back.

He deserves a shot at being Bettis' true backup this year, but he must fight his way past promising rookie Amos Zereoue and last year's backup, Richard Huntley.

Esera Tuaolo, one of the NFL's best vocalists, continues his tour of the South with the Carolina Panthers. It's his third club south of the Mason-Dixon Line in three years.

Tuaolo had 13 tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack (in the playoffs) last year with the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. In 1997, he made 26 tackles in six games with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tuaolo sang the national anthem at this year's Pro Bowl in Aloha Stadium.

Linebacker Troy Bailey is hoping the third try - with the Washington Redskins - is a charm. He has been released in training camp the past two years (Detroit and Atlanta).

He played for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe this spring and had 19 tackles (16 solo) and two-and-a-half sacks.

Who's going where DENVER BRONCOS (Report tomorrow) Jason Elam: 5-11, 200, K, 7th year (Hawaii) Maa Tanuvasa: 6-2, 270, DE, 6th year (Mililani, Hawaii) Viliami Maumau: 6-2, 302, DT, 2nd year (St. Louis School, Colorado) NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (Report Wednesday) Pio Sagapolutele: 6-6, 297, DT, 8th year (Pac-5, San Diego State) Ink Aleaga: 6-1, 225, LB, 3rd year (Pac-5, Washington) Chris Naeole: 6-3, 313, G, 3rd year (Kahuku, Colorado) ARIZONA CARDINALS (Report July 30) Adrian Murrell: 5-11, 214, RB, 7th year (Leilehua, W. Virginia) CAROLINA PANTHERS (Report July 29) Esera Tuaolo: 6-2, 281, NT, 9th year (Kailua, Oregon State) CHICAGO BEARS (Report today) Olin Kreutz: 6-2, 300, C, 2nd year (St. Louis School, Washington) CINCINNATI BENGALS (Report July 30) Kimo von Oelhoffen: 6-4, 305, DT, 6th year (Molokai, Boise St.) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (Report today) Kaipo McGuire: 5-10, 182, WR, 3rd year (St. Louis School, BYU) MIAMI DOLPHINS (Report Tuesday) Joe Wong: 6-6, 313, OT, 1st year (Kailua, BYU) PITTSBURGH STEELERS (Report July 29) Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala: 5-11, 254, RB, 2nd year (St. Louis School, Utah) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (Report July 30) Itula Mili: 6-4, 265, TE, 3rd year (Kahuku, BYU) WASHINGTON REDSKINS (Report Sunday) Troy Bailey: 6-4, 290, DE, 1st year (St. Louis School, Oregon)