In its 11th annual edition, the Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance football combine went electronic.
For the first time, the combine used an electronic timing system, and the 200-plus student-athletes on the field at Saint Louis got the benefit Saturday. Among them is Saint Louis wide receiver Jeremy Tabuyo, who ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. The timing system is operated by Sport Testing, a company from Toronto. The group has worked with hockey’s Montreal Canadiens and the Canadian Football League. They worked at PIAA’s inaugural soccer combine on Thursday before taking the field on Saturday for the football event.
"You can be off by a couple of tenths of a second with hand timing," Sports Timing CEO Chris Erickson said. "With our laser timing, we take our data and let everybody get access. They get their report cards and figure out how much better they need to get."
Tabuyo’s 4.43 will withstand any questioning, unlike his 4.36 hand-timed 40 from two years ago when the combine was at Aloha Stadium. What makes Tabuyo’s time even more impressive is that he suffered a knee injury last fall.
"I think that’s a lot of work, what he and my brother have done in track season," Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux said, noting his brother, trainer and assistant coach Anthony Arceneaux. "They’ve been busting their tails. Jeremy’s done everything he needs to do, eating right, taking care of his body."
Tabuyo, at about 6 foot 1, brought his weight down to 179.
"To his credit, he did it. Something a lot of high school kids can’t do. I tell them try to cut the white rice. Eat brown rice if anything, and half the portion," Anthony Arceneaux said.
Two of the more imposing underclassmen were Semisi Uluave and Canton Kaumatule, two Punahou freshmen.
"This is a big deal. We just came out from volleyball and basketball. It’s a good start-off point for us. Football’s the most important sport," said Kaumatule, a 6-6, 260-pound defensive end.
He posted a time of 4.4 seconds on the L-drill, his personal best.
Even with a broken cleat on his size-16 Adidas shoes, Uluave worked hard.
"We’re trying to explore the outside world. It gives you a little bit of hope, and it comes down to this one day," the nose guard/right offensive tackle said. "Today, I think my pro agility, my shuffle. My times before this have been good. Now I have a lot of work to do."
Other schools like Campbell had big turnouts. Twelve Sabers were at the combine.
"We’re looking to rebuilding our offense," quarterback Justin Tago-Su‘e said, noting that the entire starting offensive line graduated. "Hopefully, we’ll pick back up where we started."
Saint Louis offensive lineman Reeve Koehler, a 6-4, 321-pound senior-to-be, has been to every PIAA combine since eighth grade, when his older brother, Solomon, was a participant. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times Saturday. But he wasn’t satisfied with his vertical leap of 29 inches.
"It was my worst since eighth grade," Koehler said. "That’s why I want to get down to 310."