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POSTED: Sunday, December 14, 2008

There are opportunities out there.

The gamut of college football experiences range from over-the-top (Notre Dame and Touchdown Jesus) to cerebral (Harvard) to intimate (Linfield). Then there's a matter of the heart.

For Billy Ray Stutzmann, that's all that mattered when his opportunity arrived. He chose Hawaii back in the summer, turning down scholarship offers from Colorado, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State. In an era when many local standouts seek schools in the Pac-10 or elsewhere—lured by BCS glitter—Stutzmann just wanted to wear the green and black.

“;I know playing in front of my family and friends was a big factor in it. I just like the coaches,”; the wide receiver from Saint Louis said.

The rangy senior was one of the catalysts in the Crusaders' prolific passing offense with eight touchdown catches. Arguably the fastest wideout in the state, Stutzmann averaged 15 yards per reception.

He'll graduate early and enroll at UH in the spring. He's already familiar with some of the Warriors after spending summer days running out for passes in players-only workouts.

“;It gave me a good sense of what they're going to be doing. It got me more comfortable being there and getting to know everyone,”; said Stutzmann, who got plenty of tutelage from UH quarterback Inoke Funaki.

“;He helped me a lot with getting the routes and everything.”;

Twelve future Warriors played in the Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl on Friday at Aloha Stadium, but there are a multitude of players who are taking their game to the continent next season. Letter-of-intent signing day isn't for seven more weeks, but here's a broad look at some of those prospects.

 

Offensive linemen

Chauncy Winchester-Makainai (6-4, 326) of Kailua and Jordan Loeffler (6-5, 265) of Hilo were early commits to Hawaii. Mililani's Benson Maafala (6-4, 305) joined them recently as a future Warrior.

Winchester-Makainai follows a long line of Surfriders who made the move to Manoa. He had a strong list of suitors: Cal, Colorado, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Stanford, Utah and Washington.

Loeffler was largely unseen by most of the state, but three Pac-10 schools—Oregon State, Washington and Washington State—chased him. So did Nevada and Idaho.

Maafala had his share of interest from Arizona, Cal, Michigan State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah and Washington.

A slew of O-linemen are biding their time before making decisions, including Saint Louis' Tytan Timoteo (6-1, 293) and Mana Greig (5-11, 285).

 

Running backs/receivers

Dalton Hilliard's primary position was running back, but he evolved into a “;slash”; athlete by playing four positions as a senior. The Punahou senior finished with 1,336 yards and 18 touchdowns from scrimmage, but committed to UCLA before the season was over. Hilliard could emerge on defense there. He returned an interception for a touchdown during part-time duty at cornerback.

Farrington running back Apelu So'oalo has drawn interest from Hawaii and Idaho. The 5-10, 185-pound senior rushed for 1,215 yards and 12 touchdowns in a West Coast, I-formation attack.

Punahou's Robby Toma, who led the state with 85 catches, 1,388 yards and 18 touchdown receptions, also committed to UCLA in midseason. His only prior offer was from Army.

Another highly productive receiver, Edieson Dumlao, said he expects to play baseball at the next level. He is a standout outfielder for Leilehua, but so far, his numbers have been bigger on the football field than the diamond. He had 78 receptions for 939 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Kimo Makaula (6-3, 225) committed to Hawaii early in the season. As a jack-of-all-trades, he was valuable to Punahou, but UH will have to figure out where he suits their needs. As a quarterback, he threw for 879 yards and eight touchdowns. As a tight end and wide receiver, he had 27 catches for 361 yards and three scores. He saw action at linebacker during Friday's all-star game and he's a proficient punter, to boot.

A sleeper at wideout may be Kealakehe's Jordan Ursua (5-10, 175), who moved to quarterback as a senior.

 

Quarterbacks

Cayman Shutter is happy to be a UH Warrior since recently de-committing from New Mexico. The 6-1, 190-pound Punahou senior threw for 2,426 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven picks. He managed 812 yards in the state semifinals and final as Punahou won its first HHSAA title in football.

 

Defensive tackles

Hawaii scored big with Waianae's Wade Keliikipi (6-3, 280), who also considered Cal, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State.

Trevor Iosefa (6-1, 287) of Punahou, Nick Maafala of Mililani (6-0, 260) and Miah Fa'atoafe (6-0, 290) of Aiea are also weighing their futures. Iosefa has interest from Hawaii, Portland State, St. Francis, Washington and Weber State. Maafala has heard from Army, Hawaii, Navy, Portland State and Western Oregon.

Fa'atoafe is examining Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan State and Utah.

 

Defensive ends

The position is loaded this year. Of the top DEs, three are going to play for Greg McMackin at UH: Veni Manu of Mililani, Chad Lopati of Kapolei and Marcus Malepeai of Radford.

Manu (6-4, 230), who has good acceleration from the edge, turned down offers from Cal and Utah despite having family roots at the latter school.

Lopati (6-2, 245) suffered a knee injury early in the season, but had played with a big motor and performed brilliantly to that point as an end. He projects as a linebacker in college. He came back late in the year to rejoin the Hurricanes, and also played in the all-star game.

Malepeai (6-2, 245) is strong enough to play inside, but has the quickness and burst to play end or possibly outside linebacker. Arizona, BYU, Cal and Washington were also interested.

 

Linebackers

Manti Te'o had 29 offers before he lost count and narrowed his list to five schools: BYU, Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA and USC. Don't be surprised to see Washington possibly emerge in the picture because USC assistant coach Steve Sarkisian was recently hired by UW as head coach.

Sarkisian was USC's primary recruiter of Te'o, who had 129 tackles for Punahou and was rated the top outside linebacker in the nation.

The senior class is deep again at this position. Cyril Ontai (5-10, 205) of Kapolei has offers from Cal Poly, Navy, Portland State and San Diego.

Farrington's Isiah Iuta (6-0, 210) is a target for Arizona, Cal, Hawaii and Oregon State.

Nate Hall (6-4, 230) of Leilehua may be the hidden gem of this group.

 

Cornerbacks

Jray Galeai (6-0, 180) of Kahuku committed to BYU after weighing offers from Hawaii, Oregon State and Utah. He's also a high-scoring guard on the basketball team.

Samoa's Joey Iosefa (6-1, 190) committed to Hawaii and could emerge as a receiver, slotback, running back or even quarterback because of his speed and play-making ability.

 

Safeties

Two have committed: Trendt Marsom of Kaimuki and Kamalani Alo of Kahuku. Marsom gave a commitment to Wyoming this week, the first island player to become a Cowboy in more than 30 years.

Alo (6-1, 190) has experience at outside linebacker, but his speed allowed the Red Raiders to play him at safety. He's a sprinter and hurdler on the Kahuku track team, and is a sweeper on the soccer team.

The position is deeper than usual this year. Kahuku's Aulola Tonga, at 6-3 and 205 pounds, is impressive and has drawn interest from BYU, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon State and Washington.

Breland Almadova's play for 'Iolani was stellar, but he also stood out in the all-star game with three pass deflections. He'll play baseball at UH, but is interested in football, too.

Farrington's James Smith (5-11, 190) has interest from Hawaii and Idaho.

Kapolei's Shaydon Akuna (6-3, 208), Damien's Anthony Tuitele (6-0, 190) and Radford's versatile Mosiah Manuma (5-10, 185) are potential sleepers.

 

Special teams

It was also a good year for place-kickers. CeeJay Santos of Baldwin set an MIL mark with a 51-yard field goal this season.

Mason Puckett of Aiea didn't rack up big numbers, but has been a solid kicker for three seasons.