Sidelines
HE looks like a natural out there. He's got the goods, that's what they tell you. There's no limit to this kid, and that includes playing on Sundays. He could do it, they tell you, lights in their eyes, excitement in their voices, and you believe them, because if you squint, let your mind wander just a little, you can see it too. Can’t Miss Kid makes
a move for his futureHe's going to be a great one.
Again.
Wayne Hunter is moving to the offensive line.
WE'VE HEARD THIS STORY before. Last year, in fact. Hunter, after sitting out a season as a transfer from Cal, was one of the most anxiously awaited newcomers on the Hawaii football team. Cal had thought they had a rising star, and when Hunter came home, a lot of people predicted a lot of things.
Even Mel Kiper Jr. (or whoever writes the WAC preview for Mel Kiper Jr.) mentioned his name and raved.
Then fall camp rolled around, and Hawaii's coaches couldn't stop salivating.
Hunter could be "a millionaire if he stays healthy," defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said.
"I've been to four NFL camps and he's already better than half those guys," Singletary said.
"He has that unique talent to be very good at the next level," June Jones said.
Hunter was going to be a great, great defensive lineman for UH.
But then something happened.
He wasn't.
Oh, it was more complicated than that, of course. These things always are. First he moved inside, playing out of position at defensive tackle. He did as he was asked, even if it wasn't to his strength. Then he struggled in the very first game, and got hurt.
"He was playing against a pretty good kid, an (Division I-AA) All-American kid he had a real hard time with," Singletary recalls.
The fairy tale was over in a hurry.
Then Lance Samuseva emerged on the inside while Hunter was injured, and Travis Laboy became a star on the end. Then Mike Iosua got healthy and Laanui Correa got better, and soon, ready or not, there was no place for Hunter to play.
The defensive line was experiencing a renaissance, and Hunter could only watch. He had fallen behind, and in college football no one waits for you to catch up.
Late in the year he snuck into a few games, but it was too little too late. After the BYU game Hunter went to the coaches and asked to play offense, and they let him go.
They let what they had called a pro defensive lineman walk. (It should be noted that it is Jones' philosophy to let players have a say in their positions.) And the offense scooped him up like a kid at Christmas, and the story started all over again. Second verse, same as the first.
MIKE CAVANAUGH IS excited. Mike Cavanaugh is always excited. He speaks in exclamation points even when he's whispering, which isn't often. He sees greatness in Hunter. Cavanaugh always sees greatness, except when he sees terribleness, and then he screams things.
"Let's kill the quarterback! Let's just (bleeping) kill 'em!"
But now Cav is confident and quiet, and he all but rubs his hands with glee.
"As soon as he came in. 'What did I tell you?'" he asks Hunter. "'You had left tackle written all over you.'"
Cavanaugh has talked long and passionately about how much training it takes to become an offensive lineman, but he plugged Hunter in at left tackle without hesitation. The quick change doesn't scare Cavanaugh, not this time.
Adrian Klemm used to be a tight end. Kynan Forney didn't play a snap the year before he burst on the scene. This is one of Cav's special projects, and those have a history of working out.
"I'm still going through the mindset change," Hunter says. And at times his feet fail him and his technique looks dull. But he can do it. You see what they see, those feet and those arms and that quickness and even an occasional flash of temper. Hunter is 6 foot 6, 280 pounds without a hint of fat, he can run, he can move and he's smart as hell. Oh yes, this could work.
"He's an athlete," Singletary says, "and those kids can make adjustments."
"He's just gotta work on his finishing ability," Cavanaugh growls. "Repetition is the greatest teacher."
Can he get himself ready in time? "No question," says Cav. No question. Of course, that's what they said last year, too.
He'll start. That's huge. It's great for him, because he wasn't going to crack that lineup on defense, not with Correa getting better by the second on one side and quite possibly Hawaii's Best Defensive Lineman Not Named Noga on the other.
But on offense ... they need him. Cav loves him.
"I think it's home for him," Singletary says.
Hunter says he moved for his future, for his best chance to go pro, and it probably is. But it helps the team, too. It's a fresh and optimistic start, a positive thing in more ways than one.
Maybe he would have developed those defensive line instincts with time and practice. Maybe if he hadn't gotten hurt. But he never did play like a great player last season, and that was hard. For him. For Singletary. For both of them now, that it just didn't work out.
They both saw other guys on the defensive line blossom last season, but for whatever reason, no excuses, Hunter never did. Now, they both say, this move is the right one. He has, no excuses, another chance to be great.
But this time he has to make it happen.
"I have one question for him," Cavanaugh says. "Does he believe? Because I'll tell you what I see, I see greatness, but I want to know if he believes it."
For the second year in a row, the Can't Miss Kid says that he does.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com