[ UH RECRUITING ]
Hawaii loses out on
Perry, gets PearmanUH fills holes and will bring in
a few players who can play now
Brandon Satcher salvaged an otherwise disappointing day for the University of Hawaii football program yesterday when the quarterback from South Carolina said he'd sign a letter of intent to become a Warrior today.
But the top offensive linemen from Hawaii and American Samoa, as well as a talented all-purpose player and a junior college receiver all decided they would go elsewhere.
Kahuku center Jeremy Perry -- the state's most sought-after player -- said yesterday afternoon he would accept a scholarship offer from Arizona over Hawaii.
"Both schools have great coaches," Perry said. "But I really liked Arizona's facilities."
Still, UH appears to have addressed most of its immediate needs and picked up some good prospects with a recruiting class whose hometowns range from Pago Pago, American Samoa to Aberdeen, Md.
Warriors coaches stood by the fax machine this morning, anxiously awaiting letters of intent from at least 17 high school and junior college players.
The jewel of the class could be running back Andrew Pearman, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound running back with 4.3 speed at 40 yards and 10.3 at 100 meters. The fastest high school football player in North Carolina chose Hawaii over Virginia, where his brother, Alvin, plays football. Hawaii plans to move Pearman to wide receiver as a freshman, but Pearman will likely get a shot at running back at some point.
JC defensive tackles Austin Jackson and Lawrence Wilson could make major impacts immediately, and cornerback Turmarian Moreland, another junior college player, is expected to step in right away, too.
Fans of Virginia and Iowa State still held out hope last night that Pearman and Jackson were headed their way, but those close to the UH camp were confident the two would sign with UH today. Both told the Star-Bulletin that was their plan in phone conversations over the weekend.
The others expected to commit to UH in writing today are offensive lineman Keith Ah Soon, quarterback Tyler Graunke, athlete Ryan Grice-Mullins, quarterback Taylor Humphrey, defensive back Matt Kirschner, defensive tackle Fale Laeli, linebacker Khevin Peoples, long snapper Bryce Runge, linebacker Carl Stokes, defensive back Desmond Thomas, defensive lineman Clarence Tuioti-Mariner and defensive lineman Keala Watson.
Satcher is a 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback at North Augusta High School in South Carolina. But he will likely move to another position at UH.
The Warriors were shut out of the big three they were looking for of Perry, offensive tackle Terrance Apted (Utah) and Greg Prator (Washington State).
They were also hoping for Kapolei's Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada to come to Manoa as a receiver. But Keheaku-Enhada had options, and in the end, he chose to take the opportunity to run one.
Kaheaku-Enhada will sign to play for the Naval Academy today after committing yesterday.
Hurricanes coach Darren Johnson said Kaheaku-Enhada's decision was based on Navy's Hawaii connection --offensive coordinator Paul Johnson and assistant coaches Ken Niumatalolo and Ivin Jasper, all of whom either played for or coached at UH.
Kaheaku-Enhada will attend the USNA's Prep School for a year before going to Annapolis, where he'll play quarterback and have four years of eligibility.
His second choice was Air Force, which is also looking for an option quarterback.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder was also offered scholarships to play safety at Washington and wide receiver at Hawaii.
"It wasn't really a good fit at UH, because he wants to play quarterback," Hernandez said. "He feels really comfortable with Navy, because terminology-wise, they run the same system as us. The coaches were impressed with how much he knew about their offense already."
Division I-AA Alcorn State offered scholarships to five Saint Louis players -- linebacker Dylan Moss, defensive back Keao Monteilh, offensive lineman Bronson Carvalho, running back B.J. Batts and defensive lineman Oren Long, and all five were making their final decisions on whether to accept. According to Oahu recruiting facilitator Doris Sullivan, all five were likely to sign and that efforts are being made to invite Tennessee Titans quarterback and NFL co-MVP Steve McNair to the proceedings. McNair is a former Alcorn State standout.
Soloni Taumololo, who played at Kaimuki and Yuba JC, orally committed to Division II Minnesota State-Mankato and plans to sign today.
He was also offered scholarships from Eastern Washington, Portland State and Alcorn State.
Rocky Alo, a standout running back at Kailua who went on to play at Los Angeles Harbor College, is headed to Indiana State on a full ride, according to Surfriders coach Darren Johnson.
"He was one of the best running backs to come through our program," Johnson said.
Two offensive linemen -- Kamehameha's Elwen Freitas and Waipahu's Curtis Masaniai --are expected to sign to play for St. Mary's (Calif.) today.
Freitas will join Campbell's David Veikune (Colorado), Saint Louis' Brennan Carvalho (Portland State), and Iolani's Raynold Stowers (Utah) at a signing party today at Bronson's Restaurant in downtown Honolulu.
Five other Saint Louis players -- Isaiah Dela Pena (Montana-Western), Desmond Hanohano (Utah), Fale Laeli (Hawaii), Kealii Perbera (Montana-Western) and Tavita Thompson (Oregon State) will sign at the Crusaders' campus today.
Waimea's Jordon Dizon (Colorado), one of the first players to orally commit, will sign at the Menehunes' campus today. He's the first player from Kauai to receive a full ride to play for the Buffaloes.
Also, former Kealakehe lineman Jesse Mahelona signed to play for Tennessee in December after playing two years at Orange Coast JC.