It was his grandmother who gave Kaeo Alo the first name of Kaeokalei, which translates roughly to "strength within the family."

It is an appropriate name for a young man who lives in Hauula with his wife and their 3-month-old son, leaves his house at 5:30 a.m. for a full day of school and Hawaii football practices and meetings, and then returns in the evening to spend time with his growing family. His wife is 11⁄2 months pregnant.

"At the end of the day," Alo said, "I’m kind of worn down. Somehow, someway, I find the strength to keep going."

That grit fueled Alo during a two-year church mission in Guatemala, where he relied on his Mormon faith and pidgin Spanish to work with the locals.

And that determination has helped Alo as an under-sized defensive tackle at an undermanned position.

By trade, Alo is a fullback who gained the attention of Norm Chow in 2011, when Chow was Utah’s offensive coordinator. Alo often was used as a defensive lineman on the scout defense. Chow was named UH’s head coach in December 2011; Alo moved back to Hawaii in January.

Because Alo was an unrecruited walk-on at Utah, he was allowed to transfer without redshirting. Alo was cleared to play three weeks ago, when the Warriors were down to one true defensive tackle.

Despite being 5 feet 9 and 265 pounds, Alo was summoned to play defensive tackle. Football is supposed to be a sport of leverage and, Alo said, "I’m low already. I have leverage."

"I love him," UH defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said. "He’s a tough guy. He works hard. He probably has one of the better hands in getting off blocks. He does a great job. We don’t hesitate to put him in. We know what he can do."

Alo is capable of bench-pressing a maximum 405 pounds. In his rare free time, he works on cardio exercises. He said he wants to maintain his weight through this season, but might try to shed pounds when he moves back to fullback in the spring.

For now, Alo is part of a three-man rotation at defensive tackle. The starters are Siasau Matagiese and Haku Correa. Defensive ends Beau Yap, Tavita Woodard and Marcus Malepeai also can play tackle. But Chow said he expects Alo to receive significant reps in Saturday’s road game against Colorado State.

"I love his toughness," Chow said. "I love his work habits. I love what he’s all about and what he represents."

Alo, the older brother of UH linebacker Kamalani Alo, said his work ethic and patience were reinforced during his mission. He said he had set a goal of doing missionary work as a youngster attending "primary" classes on Sundays.

"We’d always sing songs about going on a mission," Alo said. "I knew my whole life I wanted to be a missionary. It was a humbling experience being in a third-world country, speaking another language. It was a great experience. It taught me independence. The experience is helping me now."