Man with mean focus

Finish what you start.

That can apply to many things in life and it unquestionably applies to Saint Louis’ Fred Ulu-Perry Jr. and his approach to being an offensive lineman.

Watch Ulu-Perry in a game or a practice or on YouTube and you can’t miss the fact that his primary objective every single play is to finish. That means pushing his opponent far down the field or into the ground before the whistle blows. Or, on pass plays, it means putting up his solid, balanced wall of a body and angling the defensive player away from danger.

Offensive players aren’t allowed to tackle, right? Well, then, why are so many of Ulu-Perry’s combatants on the ground after a play? All of this is clear for anyone who watches his highlight reel, where you can see it over and over again for five minutes.

During that same amount of time at practice on Wednesday, Ulu-Perry showed his skills in many different ways during team drills. He fought off a block from one player and a second later, flattened someone else.

Next, he sensed he was going to get beat on the inside and did a 360, using his back to temporarily fend off the attacker before squaring up and recovering as if there was never a problem.

A little later, he stopped a rusher cold, but the play got extended, so Ulu-Perry continued the block for what seemed like five seconds.

"All day!" he shouted to his teammate, as if to say that he’s not going anywhere and if it takes until dinner time, well, then that’s how long he’d be there.

"Just having fun with some of my buddies," said the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Ulu-Perry, who starts at left tackle for the Crusaders.

Finishing plays in practice or a game is one thing, but finishing his life’s ambition is another.

Ulu-Perry shared something that might sound cocky to some, but it’s his reality and he said it with as much humility as possible:

"I’m the best. No one is in front of me. That’s how I think and I usually keep that inside of me. I have to have the mind-set of a beast. There’s nothing negative in my head. I want to be the best in Hawaii and I want to be the best in the nation."

In some ways, he’s nearly there. He’s ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 4 guard, the position he’s projected to play at UCLA, which he orally committed to in July. He also graded out as a top-five lineman at a Nike camp in Oregon, according to Saint Louis line coach Rob Crowell.

It’s nearly always too early to tell if any high school senior is going to one day be in the NFL, but Ulu-Perry, who is cut from the same mold as longtime NFL linemen and Saint Louis alumni Olin Kreutz and Dominic Raiola, is as good a bet as any.

"As far as tools go, he has it all, and more so than any other offensive lineman I’ve seen in high school," Crowell said. "I’ve coached (various places) for 10 years and I played with Olin Kreutz.

"Fred has the work ethic, the technique, the strength and the footwork. And he has that whatever you want to call it, that mentality, that drive that he’s not going to settle to be second in anything. He works to be the best and he is one of the best in the state and in the nation."

Asked point-blank if he’s witnessed Ulu-Perry getting beaten by an opponent and Crowell didn’t blink while saying, "I haven’t seen it. Not yet. Against the St. John Bosco (defending MaxPreps national champion) guys and (defending state champion) Punahou, he did a great job."

Crowell attests that Ulu-Perry is humble off the field, is always working to get better and is never satisfied.

"You don’t expect someone like Fred (a high school sports star) to be riding the bus, but one day he called me and said that he overslept on his way to practice from Salt Lake and that he was in Hawaii Kai. He got right back on a bus and came to practice," Crowell said.

Even though he has committed to UCLA, Ulu-Perry will make an official visit to the campus again the weekend of Oct. 11, when the Bruins play former Saint Louis star and Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks. Ulu-Perry will also make a visit to Oregon State for the "Civil War" against Oregon ­on Nov. 29.

"I know Marcus," Ulu-Perry said. "He’s really laid-back. I really want to watch him live, and this is a great chance to see him in both games."

Of course, until he signs on letter of intent day in February, any college athlete can change his mind on which school to attend.

Oregon State offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, a former Hawaii assistant, is wooing him.

So far, UCLA offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, the former UH tackle, has won him over.

"UCLA is the right school for the path I want to take," Ulu-Perry said.

Texas A&M, Colorado, Texas Tech, Washington State, Washington, Hawaii and Arizona State, among others, are also vying for his services.

Ulu-Perry says God, family and teammates are part of what drives him to excel.

He called three straight losses to start the season against top-notch competition a "big wake-up call," and thinks those defeats could make the Crusaders (2-3, 2-1 ILH) tougher and better as the season goes on.

It’s about finishing. Remember?

Finishing the season strong.

Or finishing as the best possible lineman he can be at the highest level of the game he can attain.