Football recruits from Punahou close to making that next step

The slogan "BUFF UP!" is on plenty of bright yellow T-shirts at Punahou, and the order is a little more decisive when some of the school’s football players wear them.

Running back Steven Lakalaka is looking forward to his college years at UCLA. Right tackle Matthew Sparks has a scholarship offer in hand from the University of Hawaii. Defensive end DeForest Buckner is weighing possibilities from a multitude of colleges. Another DE, Luke Kaumatule, has a standing offer from Stanford. Even junior linebacker Isaac Savaiinaea has a path to Palo Alto after Stanford offered the 6-foot-3, 230-pound athlete a scholarship.

Lakalaka, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior, wore his spirited shirt to school. The yellow and blue colors aren’t much different from his future hues as a Bruin. He committed to the Westwood, Calif., campus last summer and never budged. Of the state’s top three running backs, he is the lone senior.

"Nowadays, players want coaches that are active and more aggressive. That calm coaching way is getting old, I guess. Players want that motivation, that fire to play," he said before basketball practice.

So what is it that makes a coach a good recruiter?

"I’d try to relate to the players, say things that are not second-guessing to them. Make them feel at home," Lakalaka said.

Sparks was voted to the Star-Advertiser All-State first team along with Lakalaka, Savaiinaea and Buckner.

"I’m going to take an official visit to Hawaii this weekend. I feel pretty good," said Sparks, who wore a UH workout shirt. "They pass a lot and I feel pass pro is one of my strengths. I’m looking forward to playing for my family."

Buckner is busy on the basketball court this winter, but he visited Oregon last week. He’s up to 250 pounds now, filling out a 6-7 frame.

"I’m still trying to get into basketball shape. I’ll try to keep my weight during the season. Basketball is good for my footwork, getting faster," said Buckner, who threw down a breakaway dunk against Moanalua after his return from the continent.

"Right now, when I get the ball, I want to make my move already. I have to be patient," he said.

There have been football standouts who passed up the chance to play basketball during senior year to avoid possible injury. One was Tim Chang, who played both sports at Saint Louis but stepped away from the hardwood after football season his senior year.

"I don’t think about it. If you think about it, you won’t go full speed and second-guess yourself," Buckner said.

If anything, Buckner’s explosive ability in the post may inadvertently cause more pain for opponents than for himself. The future, though, is so close. Getting a taste of college life in Eugene, Ore., was good.

"It was nice. It was everything I’m looking for in a college," he said. "First thing, when I showed up, I hung out with the players. There wasn’t any cliques of people. It wasn’t just black guys from Cali hanging here or guys from Texas over there. I’ve seen that at other schools, that’s normal. Oregon’s the No. 1 school in the country to have players from different states. Everybody’s from a different state. I like the family-oriented life they’ve got."

It was Buckner’s second visit to the campus. He was there in the summer for a football event with Kaumatule. He’s not quite done with football this month. He’ll play in the new Marine All-American game in Arizona on Dec. 29.

Buckner’s offer list includes everybody in the Pac-12 except for Oregon State, Stanford and USC. Hawaii also has an offer on the table.

"For me, since I was young I’ve wanted to get off the island and explore the world myself. That’s why I want to go, just be my own man," Buckner said.

Lakalaka sees a bright future for Punahou’s underclassmen, particularly Savaiinaea.

"Isaac has a lot of choices; he’s got a lot of Pac-12 offers. I guess, maybe he’ll choose Stanford. He doesn’t want to say anything right now. He wants to keep his options open," Lakalaka said. "He’ll probably be an outside ‘backer or middle. It depends on if they want him as a power ‘backer or speed."

Savaiinaea was once a basketball player, but gave it up to focus on his football future 100 percent.

"Stanford’s an offer out there. It’s a great school and probably one of my top three choices, but I want to wait until senior year to see what happens," Savaiinaea said, noting that he also has an offer from Hawaii.

"A lot of the players from Hawaii that I talked to said that it could be better with all the changes to the coaching staff, but best of luck to them with whatever happens. I hope they get a really good coach. I’m not going to rule anything out."

His dream school is USC.

"That’s been one of my favorite schools ever since I was young," he said, recalling the linebacker crew of Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews and his favorite, Rey Maualuga. "He’s one of my idols, one of the hardest-hitting linebackers. It’s something to live up to. Hopefully, when I go to college, I mimic what he did."

His ability to cover in space is not common, and hybrid defensive players are becoming more valuable.

"I plan to gain weight, at least to 240, 245, hopefully keep my speed up, let’s say 4.7, 4.6 40," he said. "Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it. I’ll just be happy to play up there at the next level. Kind of like DeMarcus Ware. He’s a beast."

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The weekly "Poi Report" will be published each Sunday until letter-of-intent signing day on Feb. 1, 2012. See www.hawaiiprepworld.com for midweek updates.