Top six college football prospects are linemen

Asked about a strategy for recruiting linemen, former University of Utah coach Ron McBride once told reporters, "I wish we could just send an empty plane over there (to Hawaii) and fill all our needs."

For decades schools have been stocking their lines — offensive and defensive — with Hawaii talent, and indications are that 2015 is little different.

"Just that it is, maybe, a little better than average this year, especially on the defensive line," said one veteran college coach.

The first six players on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s list of the Top 20 college football prospects are all linemen, four of them on the defensive side.

Hulking Punahou defensive end Canton Kaumatule, a 6-foot, 7-inch 290- pounder who is already enrolled at national championship runner-up Oregon, heads the list.

But the talent doesn’t appear to stop there. Another recruiter said, "The quality is usually pretty good, but this year there is quantity at the top, too."

On occasion Hawaii produces top-drawer running backs, receivers and defensive backs. Once in a blue moon, as Marcus Mariota demonstrated, perhaps even an all-conference quarterback. More frequent are linebackers. But linemen are the mainstays of recruiters’ shopping lists.

College coaches are prohibited by NCAA rule from discussing recruits until after letters of intent have been signed Wednesday, the first day that binding commitments may be made, but several agreed to weigh in anonymously and help evaluate this year’s crop in Hawaii.

Their insight, coupled with listings by the major recruiting services and evaluations from staff writers Billy Hull and Paul Honda went into producing the Star-Advertiser’s Top 20.

As with any recruiting list, it is big on potential and projection.

None more so, perhaps, than Kaumatule. His brother, Luke, is at Stanford, and Canton has been ranked as a five-star (highest level) prospect by several scouting services. ESPN ranks him the No. 15 prospect overall, regardless of position, in the country.

"You take him, Mika (Tafua), (Rex) Manu and (Breiden) Fehoko and you’ve got a pretty good (defensive) front four right there," said one coach. "I know we’d take ’em all, if we could."

Their talents, if commitments remain unchanged on signing day, will be spread among Oregon, Brigham Young and Texas Tech.

Offensively, Saint Louis’ Fred Ulu-Perry, Punahou’s Semisi Uluave, Mililani’s Jordan Agasiva, Lyle Tuiloma of Nanakuli, Viliamu Auwae of Kapolei and ‘Iolani’s Kamuela Borden will help fill the bills of UH, Pac-12 and Mountain West schools.

Entering the 11th hour of recruiting, UH had commitments from Agasiva and Borden and was said to still be on Ulu-Perry’s radar.

Though a longshot, Ulu-Perry would be a breakthrough for UH if the Rainbow Warriors could somehow emerge with his signature.

He is an Under Armour All-American who has been ranked as high as a four-star prospect by multiple recruiting services.

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 295-pound Perry committed to UCLA in July but visited UH over the weekend. He also took official visits to Oregon State and Texas Tech.

Uluave, meanwhile, a 6-foot, 6-inch 315-pounder from Punahou, has been the object of a down-to-the-wire campaign by several schools, including UCLA and Oregon.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Uluave (@suluave15) wondered in a tweet, "Am I the only senior not committed to anywhere going into signing day…"

In that he would be the final prize of a promising class of prospects.

TOP 20

(Top local college football prospects)