Luke Kaumatule comes from a family of 10, but his Stanford University football coaches would like to make it nine.

"He (Kaumatule) is the one person on our team who, at some point, every coach on our staff has said he hopes to try to adopt him and bring him home," head coach David Shaw told a media conference call. "The kind of environment that he creates around him is just so positive."

At Stanford, they’re positive Kaumatule, a sophomore-to-be tight end from Punahou School, will be the next big thing at what is being called "Tight End U."

Of course, at 6 feet, 7 inches and 260 pounds, Kaumatule is already huge and looms very large in the Cardinal’s rebuilding.

As Stanford looks to replace two tight ends who were taken in last month’s NFL Draft — Zach Ertz (second round, Philadelphia) and Levine Toilolo (fourth round, Atlanta) — Kaumatule has drawn rave reviews this spring.

"Our expectations (of Kaumatule) are through the roof," Shaw said. "He’s (6-7) — or whatever he is now — (260) pounds, runs fast, catches the ball great. (He’s) aggressive, learning and growing. Luke — as we usually call him — has a chance to be a special, special football player."

Which is remarkable for someone who didn’t catch a pass in high school or college and, initially, wasn’t expected to. Kaumatule was ranked the 15th best defensive end college prospect in the nation out of high school by Rivals.com.

At Punahou, Kaumatule was primarily a defensive end, although he was employed as a receiver at times until a senior season that was largely lost to a knee injury. Last season he was Stanford’s third tight end, backing up Ertz and Levine.

"We knew this year (sans two starting tight ends) was coming up and we were going to be short on the tight end side," Shaw said. "Luke is a great kid and, thankfully, we were able to convince him the move to the offensive side would be a positive thing for him."

Not that they likely had to twist an arm. "Luke is the kind of a kid who will do whatever you ask, whatever the team needs," said Kale Ane, his coach at Punahou. "He’ll be the waterboy, the statistician, whatever you want him to be. It is the amazing character that he has."

Playing tight end at Stanford isn’t a bad career track. Three Cardinal alums, Jim Dray, Coby Fleener and Konrad Reuland, were on NFL rosters as tight ends in 2012. And the ones who were still on The Farm combined for 93 catches and 10 touchdowns last season.

"He’s one of the few people I’ve ever been around that has never had a bad day," Shaw said. "He walks in with the same energy and enthusiasm every single day. He is just one of those people who is just a positive influence on the people around him. I can’t say enough about him."

Yet, in time, Shaw hopes to say even more, adding, "He has a chance to be really good and, potentially, one of the best in the country in the next couple of years."

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