Hawaii defensive back Packer plays with purpose

In the quiet time before every University of Hawaii football game, defensive back Damien Packer will talk to his best friend, Maka‘ala Lum Ho.

“I let him know that it may not be perfect, it may not be pretty, but I’m going to lay it all out for him,” Packer said of his former Keaau High football and basketball teammate.

Five years ago, Lum Ho died in a kayak accident in rough waters off Kapoho. Packer and a classmate rescued another teammate, but strong waves and a wana prick made it impossible to reach Lum Ho.

“Maka is always in my heart,” Packer said. “That’s why I wear No. 21. If he had this opportunity, I know he’d go out there and lay it all out. There are going to be ups. There are going to be downs. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m not going to be perfect. I just want to make him proud at the end of the day. I’m going to go out there with 100 percent effort. I always have him in the back of my mind.”

This senior season has been a zigzag path for Packer. He ceded a starting job after four games because of missed tackles. Abraham Elimimian, who coaches the defensive secondary, decided to give Packer the cold-shoulder-pad treatment. Elimimian said Packer is a self-motivator who likes to solve problems on his own.

“Guys work differently,” Elimimian said. “Some guys you have to praise, some you have to pat on the back. You’ve got to know what button to push. That’s his button. When you doubt him, he wants to work that much harder and prove himself.”

Packer regained the strong safety’s job against UNLV two weeks ago. In Colorado’s thin air Saturday, Packer played all 97 defensive snaps in the Rainbow Warriors’ upset of Air Force. He made a career-high 14 tackles, including a mouthpiece-loosening hit, and recovered a fumble.

“He’s hungry,” Elimimian said. “He’s going to go out with a bang his senior year.”

Packer said he had worked extensively on his tackling techniques. “In practice (defensive coordinator Kevin) Lempa does a really good job in enforcing that we wrap up (a ballcarrier) and treat every rep like a game rep. I really try to hone in on that during the week, and when it comes to Saturday, (the action) slows down and it’s easier for me.”

Against Air Force, Packer had to adjust to his role as an in-the-box safety in UH’s new defensive scheme, and to the breath-seizing effects of playing at 6,621 feet above sea level.

“Ninety-seven plays doesn’t mean nothing to heart,” Packer said of his marathon performance. “If we had to go 200 plays, I’m sure we would have done that. The purpose of why you play is bigger than the altitude, it’s bigger than 97 plays. I’m out here trying to make plays for my brothers.”

Packer, who has been on scholarship for two years, also is motivated from his ramen-and-tuna days as a walk-on.

“That situation — being a walk-on and overcoming that — that was probably the hardest thing I’ve done,” Packer said. “When I step back and look how far I came, and the obstacles I had to overcome to get to where I am today, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t get through. It molded my character for life.”