Afusia all in now, and back on top

An average-sized textbook probably weighs about 2 pounds, or 0.7 percent of the weight of an NCAA football offensive lineman.

Now hold the book over your head, as if making the "A" sign in the "YMCA" dance — for an hour, starting at 5 in the morning.

"I did it one time," center Kody Afusia said. "OK, I did it a couple of times. It sucks. If you get called to do it, you deserved it."

Head coach Norm Chow, a graduate of The Old School, administered the discipline for transgressions such as missing a class or being late for a meeting.

"You have to get there before anyone else gets there, before your workout, and you have to sit there holding a book over your head," said Afusia, grimacing at the memory. "It sounds easy, but you don’t want to do it for an hour."

For Afusia, it was not an incident, but an attitude. It was early 2012, a month after Chow was named head coach. Chow not only was implementing a new offense — pro sets instead of four-wide formations — but discipline and toughness. Tardiness was the equivalent of a fourth-quarter personal foul.

"That first year … nobody had really bought in yet," Afusia said, noting all but three of the linemen were holdovers from Greg McMackin’s tenure. "Nobody really buys in off the bat. I’m not going to lie. I didn’t buy in, either."

What Afusia learned was a clean slate meant seniority was erased.

"That spring, when I got bumped down to the 2s, it really struck me," Afusia said. "I had to kick it into gear. All I did that summer was getting on my plays, getting in the weight room."

Afusia admittedly was not consistent in 2012. He was told he would start against Fresno State, but was scratched because of an ankle injury. "I got bumped out," he said, "I just didn’t work my way back up."

All that changed in 2013, with the arri- val of Chris Naeole, who played 14 NFL seasons. Naeole brought experience, hands-on teaching and a tough approach.

Naeole taught Afusia not only to watch videos but to analyze them.

"Back when I used to watch films, I was really looking at personnel," Afusia said. "After Chris got here, we sat down, and he really taught us to watch film. He really taught us how to read safeties, read the triangles outside the tackles, see everything moving side to side."

Afusia started at both guard positions last year.

"It showed me you just can’t get bumped to the top," Afusia said. "It was good for me to take the side road to get back to where I am now. I think it’s definitely going to help me in the future."

This past spring, Afusia moved to center in a double switch in which Ben Clarke shifted to left tackle. Each has play-calling duties.

"Kody has come a long way," Chow said.

This training camp, Afusia was voted as one of eight co-captains. Afusia will wear a "C"on his jersey, at the same spot, near his heart, where he honors one of his best friends.

Last fall, Afusia was among six housemates. They were all best friends despite different roles on the team. Willis Wilson, a running back from Washington, was not on the list of players who stayed in a Waikiki hotel on the eve of a game.

On Nov. 30, the morning of the regular-season finale, Wilson drowned in waters off Sandy Beach.

"That morning (in the hotel lobby), I saw people’s faces, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ " Afusia said. "They told us. It was hard. … We all lived together. We were close."

But Afusia knew he had to emerge from the sadness.

"I couldn’t step back," he said. "I know he’s always here. We’re always thinking about him. It’s just motivation, really. He’d love to see all this, and see how far we’re coming."