UH’s Kennedy Tulimasealii unlikely to return

It’s Wednesday, and here are answers to this week’s queries about the University of Hawaii football team.

Question: What is the status of defensive tackle Kennedy Tulimasealii, who was dismissed from the team in June after pleading no contest to a felony accusation of property damage?

Answer: Interim Vice Chancellor Lori Ideta recently turned down Tulimasealii’s request to rescind the dismissal or convert it into a suspension, making it unlikely he will play for the Rainbow Warriors again.

In imposing the sanction in June, according to a UH statement, Tulimasealii was “dismissed from the University of Hawaii football team for violating the UH student-athlete conduct code.” The code states that “any student-athlete convicted of or pleading guilty or no contest to a felony charge shall be permanently dismissed from the team.”

Michael Green argued that Tulimasealii did not violate the code because Circuit Court Judge Christine Kuriyama agreed to a request for a deferral of the plea. Kuriyama set aside the plea with the understanding the charges will be cleared from his criminal record if he stays out of trouble for a specified period of time.

“If you plead no contest and you move to defer, where the judge does not accept your no contest, you’re convicted of nothing,” Green said. “They’re saying, if you speak the words ‘no contest,’ you’re out. Don’t even whisper the words or you’re off the team and we’ll deny you financial aid. What kind of people are these?”

Green said he went with the deferral strategy because he felt it would be the quickest way for Tulimasealii to be reinstated. “If I had to try the case, I’m convinced I could have won,” Green said. “Who has a year-and-a-half to waste on this, especially if he walks away without a conviction? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s crazy.”

Tulimasealii is enrolled at UH-Manoa this fall semester. His last hope would be if UH president David Lassner agrees to an appeal hearing.

Q: What is UH’s plan to improve ball security and deter fumbling?

A: “I went up to Manoa Valley and grabbed a lava rock and I’ve got it outside the locker room,” coach Nick Rolovich said. “If they don’t have ball security, then they have to spend 5 minutes holding (the rock). When we give them the ball, they hold the heart and soul of this island. They can close their eyes and hold the rock.”

Q: Is there a receiver who might get more playing time?

A: Keelan Ewaliko, who can play slotback or wideout, is prepared for an expanded role. “I think he’s grown as a person,” Rolovich said. “I can see him getting some playing time.”

Q: Is there an emphasis on speed on defense in recruiting?

A: “Always,” Rolovich said.

Q: Does UH still see recruits trying to trip Hawaii for vacations?

A: “No,” Rolovich said, “because we’re not into tripping guys for vacations. I think we’re doing a good job staying in touch with a lot of recruits. We haven’t tripped anybody yet (this semester). We want to know who’s really interested. We want to force their hand with other schools. If they want to commit there, I’m not giving them a trip.”

Q: What’s the status of freshman safety Kalen Hicks?

A: “Kalen Hicks is prepared to play,” Rolovich said.

Q: Why did UH throw three deep passes beginning with 49 seconds left and trailing 41-38 against UNLV?

A: The Rainbow Warriors did not have any remaining timeouts when they started their final drive. Also, UNLV was defending the short routes. Rolovich said the Rebels had a three-man front and were trying to “protect the sideline” with cloud-flat corners. They also had two hook players and a middle defender. “If we had a couple timeouts, I think we could have run the ball a little bit,” Rolovich said. “I thought about putting (backup quarterback) Ikaika (Woolsey) in on that drive because those are some throws he really understands and likes. I thought (quarterback) Dru (Brown) got hit pretty good on that last play. He limped off. That’s one thing I’m second-guessing right now.”

Q: What did you see in freshman defensive end Kaimana Padello?

A: “As soon as you meet him, you can tell he loves Warrior football,” Rolovich said. “He’s always got energy. This is the best part of his day, coming out here and practicing football. He injects that into others. When he makes plays … that’s evidence that that’s how you’re supposed to play the game. I wouldn’t trade him for the world. That’s a true freshman walk-on who’s getting sacks and blocking punts. There probably were a thousand people telling him he wasn’t good enough to do it. The good thing when you’re a person who has dreams and goals, you should also have bad ears. You shouldn’t listen to that stuff. I like how he processes what he wants to listen to and what he doesn’t. He probably had a support system at home that told him he could be whatever he wanted to be.”

Q: Is offensive line coach Chris Naeole’s Polynesian Hall of Fame induction helpful in recruiting?

A: “It’s definitely something we sell — a guy who’s been there, who’s done it at the highest level,” Rolovich said. “With our attraction to Polynesian players, I think that’s important.”

Q: What’s this coaching staff’s approach to playing in high altitude this weekend?

A: “The one thing we could do — and this is a little secret about lower campus — we didn’t practice down here (on the soccer field),” Rolovich said. “We practiced up here (on the grass football field). It’s a little higher.”

The football field is on level about 8 feet higher than the soccer field.