When they knocked on his Makiki door after the 2009 season, there was little doubt what Utah State football coaches saw in Brian Suite.

What the 6-foot, 3-inch, 200-pound All-State free safety from Punahou saw in the Aggies was another matter.

The program in rural Logan, Utah, was running a string of 13 years without a winning season.

So, when then-head coach Gary Andersen told him, "If you want to come join our program, we’ll win, but if you don’t come, we will win without you," Suite had two options.

He could have laughed uproariously — or signed on.

Suite, remarkably and perhaps presciently, did the latter and as he returns to Aloha Stadium on Saturday for the Aggies’ game against Hawaii, he is a poster player for one of the more surprising turnarounds going.

The 5-3 Aggies are taking aim at a fourth consecutive winning season and postseason appearance. Suite has been one of the mainstays of the makeover as a captain and a three-year starter. 

He’s a ferocious hitter who competes with big-play intelligence, has a business administration degree in hand, is working on a masters in education and is a Jim Thorpe Award nominee. 

"The glue of our secondary," head coach Matt Wells calls him. 

Wells says, "I love Brian Suite. Everything that he does for our defense, our team, is in a first-class manner."

He is one of nine players from Punahou’s 2008 state championship team to land an FBS scholarship. But when he signed to play for Utah State, you would have thought he had pledged to Siberia State.

The reaction of some friends, Suite said, "was like, ‘Logan, Utah?’ It was, ‘What’s in Logan? Are you ready for the snow? They don’t have poke…’"

When Suite went to the college counseling office at Punahou and looked up the file on Utah State — seeing just one other student who had gone there recently — it underlined the path into the Cache Valley was definitely the road less traveled from Hawaii.

That Suite, a Rainbow Warriors fan who grew up not much more than a couple of sky punts from the UH campus, would go that far away when he had an offer from Manoa hardly computed. 

"Growing up, going to UH was kinda my dream," Suite said. "I went to their games, especially that 2007 (Sugar Bowl)season, and grew up idolizing those guys." 

His parents and a couple of uncles graduated from UH.

"I was surprised at his choice," said Punahou coach Kale Ane. "But Brian likes a challenge."

And in the downtrodden Aggies, Suite saw a bold challenge and a beckoning opportunity.

"I thought I saw a program that was going in the right direction, that was on the rise," Suite said. 

He saw the gleaming new facilities on the drawing board and relentless coaches.

"I saw a place where I could jump on board and be part of something special," Suite said. "I knew that it wouldn’t be easy."

Five years later, Suite says, "It was the best decision I ever made."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.