It took being away from home for Reggie Maldonado to discover how much Hawaii means to him. Likewise, after more than a year away from football, he's relishing the thought of strapping on a helmet again. Kamehameha alumnus excited
to be coming homeBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comMaldonado, a 2000 Kamehameha graduate, signed a scholarship agreement with the Hawaii football program Friday and will officially join the squad tomorrow.
"I'm real excited," Maldonado said. "I want to get out there and start playing already, the sooner the better."
Maldonado said he signed the scholarship agreement with UH associate head coach George Lumpkin and will enter the program as a junior. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Maldonado said UH coaches recruited him during his senior year at Kamehameha, but he didn't have qualifying test scores and went to Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, Calif., where he played defensive end for the Gauchos.
The sociology major earned enough credits to enroll at UH last spring. He is in his third semester at the Manoa campus.
"When I went away to California I just realized how much I wanted to be in Hawaii," Maldonado said. "I missed Hawaii and I knew I wanted to come back and play for UH, so I'm just thrilled I've been put in this situation."
Maldonado hasn't played football since the 2001 season, but he said he's been busy working to get in shape for spring drills.
Maldonado stands 6-foot-5. He weighed 205 pounds as a senior at Kamehameha, but filled out to 265 at Saddleback. He said he's now at 245 pounds but hopes to be up to 260 by the spring.
Maldonado expects to compete at defensive end or tackle .
Samoan lineman commits: Larry Sauafea, a 6-foot-3, 260-pound offensive lineman from Samoana High School in American Samoa, has given an oral commitment to UH, according to sources close to the situation.
The Warriors are also pursuing linebacker Armani Purcell of Pago Pago. Feb. 5 is the first day high-school seniors can make their decisions binding by signing a national letter of intent.
Kamoku to Wisconsin: Kealakehe linebacker James Kamoku gave an oral commitment to accept a scholarship offer from Wisconsin yesterday.
Kealakehe coach Sam Papalii said Kamoku is the first player from the Kailua-Kona school to receive a football scholarship from a program the stature of Wisconsin.
"It's pretty unbelievable that a neighbor island kid would have the opportunity for a football scholarship to a Big Ten power like Wisconsin," Papalii said. "This is big time. I don't know if people on this island can grasp that at this time because I don't think it's ever really happened."
The Badgers are looking for Kamoku to compete at safety. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was a first-team Big Island Interscholastic Federation all-star at linebacker this past season after playing cornerback as a junior. He also played receiver on offense and caught nine touchdown passes this season for the Waveriders.
"He was an impact player on both sides of the ball for us for two years," Papalii said.
Wisconsin started recruiting Kamoku based on tapes Papalii sent to Badgers coaches. Papalii worked with Wisconsin assistant Jeff Horton at UNLV when Horton was the head coach of the Rebels.
Kamoku visited the Madison, Wisc., campus last month and was offered a scholarship shortly thereafter. Wisconsin had three Hawaii products on its roster last season: defensive lineman Lyle Maiava (Saint Louis), punter R.J. Morse (Iolani) and offensive lineman Donovan Raiola (Kamehameha).