[ UH FOOTBALL ]

SB FILE / DECEMBER 2004 Safety Leonard Peters led all Hawaii players last season with 120 tackles. He also intercepted four passes.

Last line
of defense

Safety Leonard Peters is
the Warriors' last stop on
the run as well as the pass

RENO, Nev. » Leonard Peters is molding himself into an NFL prospect. He is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety with speed under 4.5 seconds in the 40 who can bench press 225 pounds 20 times.

Physically, the Hawaii safety is close to prototype for the pros.

Mentally, coaches and teammates say, Peters has improved continually going into his senior season with the Warriors.

Hawaii 2005 schedule DATE OPPONENT TIME (HST) Sept. 3 USC 1:05 p.m. Sept. 10 at Michigan St. 9:30 a.m. Sept. 24 at Idaho 11:00 a.m. Oct. 1 Boise St. 6:05 p.m. Oct. 8 at Louisiana Tech 1:00 p.m. Oct. 15 New Mexico St. 6:05 p.m. Oct. 22 at San Jose St. 12:00 p.m. Oct. 29 Fresno St. 1:05 p.m. Nov. 5 at Nevada 11:05 a.m. Nov. 12 Utah St. 6:05 p.m. Nov. 25 Wisconsin 4:05 p.m. Dec. 3 San Diego St. 6:05 p.m.

"He made my job a lot easier last season," former UH cornerback Abraham Elimimian said. "Leonard understood the game a lot better than before, reading quarterbacks. He believed in his speed and the ability to make the play."

Elimimian, now in the San Diego Chargers' training camp as a free agent, said Peters has the potential to play in the NFL next year.

But Peters, here representing the Warriors at the Western Athletic Conference Media Days, said next year might as well be next lifetime.

"You know, yes, I'm a football player, and that would be great (to play in the NFL)," Peters said. "But if it doesn't happen, that would be OK, it wouldn't be a big problem like it is for some other players who put everything in that. I've got other things I can do."

One is Polynesian dancing. Peters has been a professional dancer since age 9, when he made $5.25 an hour -- all of which went to his family.

"When I was in fourth grade, I used to cry because I would have to miss football for work sometimes," Peters said.

Now, though, while Peters remains extremely committed to UH football, his passion for dancing is equal, at least in the offseason. And he also sees it as a possible future career. Peters has had other employment over the years, including working security this past summer. But dancing is not just a part-time job; it is also a connection to his Samoan and Fijian heritage.

"I've already had some offers," he said. "You can travel the world. You can dance for Disney in Anaheim and make a lot of money."

If Peters makes a lot of tackles again this year -- he led UH with 120 last fall -- the dancing career might be on hold for pro football. He would also have to stay healthy, though. Peters has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. In 2001 he suffered knee ailments, in 2002 a scary spleen injury cost him considerable playing time, and Peters played through a banged-up shoulder last year.

The shoulder led to one of the knocks Peters' critics like to deliver: They say he doesn't tackle with proper technique and ferocity.

"Last year, in the back of my head I was kind of trying to play it safe while also trying to perform. I had to tackle a lot with my arms. I try to not make excuses, and if people ask, I explain about the shoulder," he said. "I understand a lot of people like football because of the violent aspect, and technique is important. I will definitely be looking for opportunities to make big hits this year."

He'll also be on the lookout for interceptions -- after zero career picks before last season, Peters worked on his self-described "horrible hands" and grabbed four opponent passes in 2004.

Peters, perhaps because he is a locally bred player in a high-profile position, seems to have been handed the burden that quarterback Tim Chang dealt with during his career -- the UH football player that anonymous observers on the Internet and radio love to criticize most. Chang's strategy -- at least publicly -- was to ignore it; Peters' is to acknowledge it and use it as fuel.

"I kind of take it, I know it's negative, but I try to turn it into a positive," he said. "A lot of people don't know football, except they know if a play is a touchdown or not a touchdown. To them, it's always the safety's fault because he's the last man chasing the receiver, they don't know if it was his man or not. But it comes with the territory. When they show highlights on ESPN, you're the last one chasing him."

UH successfully tracked down Peters in 2000, getting him to turn down offers from BYU, Oregon State, Arizona and Utah. Peters, then a senior at Kahuku High, was impressed by a minor gesture by coach June Jones that most people in Hawaii perform instinctively before they enter someone's home.

"Coach Jones was the only coach who took his shoes off when he came to my house," Peters said. "As you know, that's big in Hawaii. That's real big."

But what looked like a blossoming Kahuku-to-Hawaii recruiting pipeline -- with Peters' help -- dried out before it really got started. Most of the considerable Red Raider talent has consistently left the islands for mainland colleges, and Jones and Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai were not on good terms last February over confusion as to whether Kahuku players were being offered scholarships or not by UH.

Peters tries to stay out of the crossfire while maintaining loyalty to his high school and his college.

"I love Kahuku, and I'll always recruit for UH. I'm always the guy (hosting) whenever it involves a Kahuku player," he said. "The beef is between those two. I think it's just a big misunderstanding."

Sort of like when the Peters critics got on him for smiling and greeting end zone observer Marcus Allen right after Peters got beat for a touchdown in Hawaii's 61-32 loss at USC in 2003. They questioned Peters' focus; he said he doesn't regret being friendly.

"A lot of people take football seriously. I take it seriously, but I also take everything day by day and try to enjoy other things. You never know when you might go."