Ewaliko puts on muscle

Freshman 15?

That pales to University of Hawaii football player Keelan Ewaliko’s 40-pound gain during his first year.

Ewaliko’s appearance was a weighty surprise to family members in Wailuku.

"They were pretty shocked," Ewaliko recalled. They were like: ‘Who is this man walking into the house?’ I used to be that skinny kid."

Ewaliko, a former star quarterback at Baldwin High, weighed 165 pounds when he joined the UH football team in June 2013.

By the end of that redshirt season, he weighed 195.

The 5-foot-11 Ewaliko is now at 205 pounds.

With the increased weight and accompanying gain in strength, Ewaliko has been fitted for a new role: nickelback. He practiced with the Rainbow Warriors’ No. 1 defense during Monday’s practice.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Clune said Ewaliko has the strength to play on the edge of the tackle box and the range to cover receivers.

"The first thing I like is his hustle is top notch," Clune said. "He’s one of our hustle guys. He can play safety and nickel in a lot of the packages. He’s versatile."

Ewaliko had never played defense until he was asked to move from offense during the 2013 training camp.

"I was like, ‘OK,’ " Ewaliko recalled. "I didn’t pout. Whatever gets me on the field, I’ll do."

Ewaliko soon realized that every player had a glistening background.

"In high school, you can be the guy," Ewaliko said. "When you play at the next level, everyone is the guy. Everyone is good."

He said he welcomed the opportunity to redshirt.

"I didn’t have the size," he said. "To play any position in college, you need size on top of speed. I’m happy I got to redshirt. I put on a lot of weight. I got stronger. I saw the tempo of the game and tempo of practice."

Through strength coach Gary Beemer’s workouts and meal plans, Ewaliko said, "after the first 10, 15 pounds, I could feel I was getting bigger."

It was then he started to focus on speed-training "because I could feel I was slipping."

Ewaliko noted there is more to playing in the secondary than being physically fit.

"I didn’t play any defense in high school," Ewaliko said. "Coming out and playing defense now is a struggle. I have to learn all the defensive common sense on top of learning my plays. I’m not discouraged. I take it day by day, and try to learn from my mistakes. I’m grinding and trying to perfect my craft."

Through high school, Ewaliko was a bull-riding champion. He said he has stepped away from that sport the past year.

"I can’t risk getting hurt," he said. "Every time I think about it, I’m like, ‘Wow, what was I doing?’ That was me just a year ago. I just watch now. I miss it. But football is my life now."

UH coach Norm Chow said: "He’s a good athlete. He’s an impressive young man. We’re just trying to find the right spot for him."