Maybe 85 receptions, 1,388 yards and 18 touchdowns weren't enough.

For Robby Toma, Punahou's ace receiver, getting to the Under Armour All-American Bowl took something he never planned. Even with the gaudy stats, Toma was under the radar of most college recruiters—the U.S. Military Academy (Army) was his only offer until mid-season—and all-star games.

The call came for Toma, a Star-Bulletin first-team selection, after he played in the Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl nearly two weeks ago—the Tuesday after that game.

“;I jumped on it,”; Toma said.

The itinerary includes a visit to the Capital One Bowl, pitting Georgia and Michigan State. The players' lounge has 30 Xbox video game consoles, Toma said.

He'll join teammate and neighbor Manti Te'o at the game. They leave for Orlando, Fla., today.

Toma and another Punahou teammate, Dalton Hilliard, gave oral commitments to UCLA in late October.

Both players will miss basketball practices and games. Defending state champion Punahou is in the middle of the Merv Lopes Classic. Toma and Te'o return Jan. 5, one day before the Buffanblu face Kamehameha in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season opener.

It's at least the second instance of the bowl game generating more exposure for a local student-athlete. USC coaches were blown away after watching Kapolei's Simione Vehikite on the live Fox Sports telecast and made him an offer the following week.

Praise for UH-bound passer

Toma's battery-mate, quarterback Cayman Shutter, wowed at least one former UH quarterback this season. Saint Louis coach John Hao got a close-up view of Shutter during workouts for the Hawaii/Polynesia team.

“;I'm glad (UH) got Shutter. To be honest, once he picks up the reads, he's going to be damn good. His understanding of the game, his knowledge of the system are just phenomenal,”; Hao said. “;The interceptions (in the bowl game), the game speed and throwing the ball high instead of low, those are things that can be tweaked out. He's got great eyes.

“;Now it's a matter of knowing who his receivers are and getting the timing down.”;

Lately

The latest commits, reported by the Star-Bulletin recently, were Vehikite to USC and Jordan Puu Robinson of Baldwin to Washington State.

Normally deep with offensive linemen, this year's class has a wealth of defensive ends. Four have already committed: Veni Manu (Mililani) and Marcus Malepeai (Radford) to Hawaii, Mana Rosa (Baldwin) to Oregon State and Robinson to WSU.

Another D-end, Adam White of Saint Louis, is getting interest from Weber State.

Punahou's Kimo Makaula committed to UH early and could project as a defensive end. The 6-3, 225-pound senior played tight end and wide receiver for the Buffanblu.

Winding down

Five weeks before letter-of-intent day, there are still plenty of Hawaii high school players who have not given oral commitments to universities. Most notably, Punahou linebacker/running back Manti Te'o, who pared his list down to five schools.

Some are lining up their junior-college choices. Others are awaiting SAT results.

“;There are some kids who procrastinated,”; Hao said, noting that players should have begun taking the SAT as juniors instead of waiting until the last minute.