Tuileta brushes off rust at UH football practice

It seemed like old times.

During the Hawaii football team’s practice on Tuesday, two former Punahou teammates — quarterback Larry Tuileta and tight end Dakota Torres — collaborated on a pass completion.

“He’s a little rusty,” Torres said. “But he’s still got it. He still can throw it.”

Tuesday was Tuileta’s first practice as an official member of the UH football team. He accepted a scholarship offer from football coach Nick Rolovich and joined the team Monday after spending the spring semester as the starting libero for the volleyball Warriors.

“He’s throwing the ball better than I thought,” said Craig Stutzmann, UH’s quarterbacks coach, pass-game coordinator and Tuileta’s sixth-grade physical education teacher.

Tuileta said: “I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

Four years after making a verbal commitment to play football and volleyball at UH, Tuileta completed the scenic route to the grass practice field.

Tuileta was the state’s high school player of the year in both sports during the 2013-14 academic year. But on signing day on Feb. 5, 2014, he announced he would attend USC as a non-scholarship, dual-sport athlete. He redshirted during the 2014 football season, played 26 volleyball matches during the 2015 spring semester and, the following fall, left the football team to focus solely on volleyball. But Tuileta requested — and received — a release to leave USC in December 2015. He spent the next year compiling enough credits at a community college to join the volleyball Warriors this past January.

With volleyball coach Charlie Wade’s blessing, Tuileta and Rolovich had several conversations. Rolovich then made a scholarship offer.

“I don’t have to take out student loans anymore,” Tuileta said, smiling.

It was agreed Tuileta would join on Monday after returning from an international volleyball tournament.

“I’m really thankful, honestly,” Tuileta said. “It’s tough for (Rolovich), too. Who’s going to recruit a guy who hasn’t played football for a couple years? I know I wouldn’t. But it’s nice to know he has the trust in me to bring back what I have. I haven’t played in a long time. Just to have his trust and belief in me is really good.”

Tuileta, who is 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, said he kept “in touch” with the game by throwing passes to his friend, Noah Kim, at a neighborhood park.

Tuileta was admittedly nervous ahead of his first football practice. But as he walked toward his assigned locker, he was greeted by several players he knew when he was a Punahou student.

“That ended up being the icebreaker for me,” Tuileta said.

Stutzmann kept it simple for Tuileta. Tuileta threw passes to receivers running routes against no defenders. Stutzmann emphasized dropbacks, foot patterns in ball exchanges with the backs, and the “finer details” of the position.

“Just the basic stuff to create the foundation for what I have to learn for the weeks that I missed,” Tuileta said.

Stutzmann said Tuileta has “light feet” to move in the pocket and a wide hand span.

“Big hands can grip the football better,” Stutzmann said. “He can handle bad snaps. And he also can generate a lot of spin on the ball. A day like today, when there’s a little bit of Manoa mist coming through, he’s able to grip the football good. The other thing about Tui is because he’s playing high-level volleyball, he’s used to the pressure. He’s comfortable. He has a great personality. He matches our (quarterbacks) room. He’s going to be good.”

Tuileta also excelled in a fumble-recovery drill.

“I don’t know if it relates to volleyball and getting on the floor (for a dig) or me just trying to get over the ball to protect it,” he said.

Starting quarterback Dru Brown welcomed the newest member.

“We’re a bunch of guys who enjoy playing football,” Brown said of the UH quarterbacks. “When we’re off the field, we’re just normal dudes. We understand the quarterback position is very competitive. That doesn’t mean we have to hate each other. We’re all good people, good heads on our shoulders. We’re excited to have another guy here.”