Hawaiian 2028’s That Have Caught My Eye
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To the other 48 states on the mainland of the United States of America, Hawaii and Alaska seem like a world away. However, there are talented football players there as well–ya’ just gotta’ find ’em. While many of the top…
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Continue ReadingTo the other 48 states on the mainland of the United States of America, Hawaii and Alaska seem like a world away. However, there are talented football players there as well–ya’ just gotta’ find ’em. While many of the top kids from those states make their way over to California, Washington, Oregon or Nevada for high school, in an attempt to be taken more seriously as a prospect, their roots are where they were live and where they started playing the game. Here are five from “Over the Rainbow” that have caught my eye.
Watching Laulelei Sualevai on film, I get the same vibes I got from now-prized 2026 Hawaiian recruit, Malakai Lee back when he was in eighth-grade. His name was sent over to me by a connection from Hawaii and I’m sure glad he did. At 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, he comes with fantastic size for a current eighth-grader. He lined up primarily at right guard this season for Saint Louis High School and was one of several huge guys up front. He’ll need to continue to battle gravity and human nature to stay low, but from what I’ve seen, he’s going to be a good one.
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There’s a “chip off the old block” and then there’s 2028 Hawaiian running back Tenari Fuamatu-Ma’afala. Fuamatu-Ma’afala is the son of former seven-year NFL vet Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, who played the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before finishing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watching father and son run the ball, there is very little difference between the two. NFL Dad Chris ended up as a massive, bruising full back at 6-foot and 252 pounds and son Tenari is certainly on that way. I don’t have measurables but on film the hulking size, body compensation and quick-for-his-size feet are nearly identical. In fact, the Utah Utes, his dad’s alma mater, are the first to offer the 2028 prospect .
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Say and think what you want about this next statement, but sometimes there are kids out on the football field that are simply woke up and chose violence. That’s the impression I get when I watch Steele Maria-De Rego play football. He lists himself at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds and without official measurements, nobody can be sure; However, the one thing that is for sure is that he can hit. Hard. Primarily a strong safety, Maria-De Rego is a head-hunting assassin in the deep third.
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Another 2028 defensive back out of Hawaii to take note of, is Carter Christensen. Where Steele Maria-De Rego (listed above) is the type of safety that lives to knock a block off with a big hit, Christiensen is more of your quintessential playmaker on the outside. Also a threat in the return game, he’s more likely to take the ball away from the offense via interception or a forced turnover, than he is to straight lay the wood. That’s not to say he isn’t a physical player, but there’s a lot more depth here. He’s a kid that I can see picking up an early offer.
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At 6-foot and and a now bulked-up 240-pounds, Lennox Chee has really transformed his body in the weight room over the last calendar year. Based off his film, he’s been a very, very good player over the last few years but has seemingly cranked up the volume to 10 based off his performance on Team Hawaii at the Islands Best tournament. He’s an active disrupter on the defensive front with the quick first step of a defensive end and the power of a defensive tackle. There’s a lot of ruthless toughness here and he could be one of the bigger disrupters in the Aloha State for years to come.