Keala Santiago: A quick study on and off the field

Vavae Tata doesn’t gush with praise often.

When it comes to Keala Santiago, Tata doesn’t hold back.

“He has set the standard,” the Kahuku football coach wrote via text. “It’s such a blessing for the team because now the younger players know what the expectations are moving forward.”

Santiago isn’t just the strong, silent type. He studies with purpose. He defends with passion. He is part missile, part nerd. Kahuku’s playmaking safety and kick returner is academically inclined. Uncle Walter Santiago is vice principal at Kahuku High School. For Keala, the bulb lit up for good during freshman year.

“My ninth-grade year, I really didn’t think that I would need all of this, high grades,” Santiago said. “Everybody says stay on top of your work, get good grades, but I was just playing. As I got older, I started to realize it.”

Oh, he’s realizing a lot. He’s gone beyond doing just enough. He carries a 3.3 grade-point average and is an NCAA Clearinghouse qualifier. AP Calculus and AP Biology are part of his daily life.

“It’s kind of hard. I think about half of it is useful in engineering or architecture,” he said.

He’s gotten some surprising looks from people who find out about his class schedule.

“It’s ‘Why?,’ or ‘How did you get into that class?’ I just think they doubt me,” he said. “Just because I might look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Awaiting a title-game matchup with Saint Louis on Friday, Kahuku (12-0) is top seed, top dog, top of the heap when it comes to brutally physical smashmouth football. Defense has been a cornerstone, once again. Tata is proud of a unit that has essentially shut out seven opponents. Santiago, in large part, is quarterback of the defense.

“It’s been an honor to coach Keala because the lineage he comes from is distinguished,” Tata wrote. “He is a true student of the game. He is someone you don’t have to worry much about because he is always around the ball.”

Santiago had three interceptions during the OIA championship game against Mililani. He added two more in a state-tourney semifinal win over Waianae.

“We study as a team and we do it at home, too. Sometimes we bring home a DVD. A lot of it is on Hudl,” Santiago said.

That, in turn, helps him navigate every play long before the snap. His positioning is impeccable.

“Coaches been telling us to watch the film and helping us out with all the plays. By game time we know what to do,” he said.

His father, Louis, was a standout defensive back at the University of Hawaii, along with brother Walter. Louis coaches the secondary at Kahuku, and also teaches the nuances of track and field, where Keala is a six-event point-maker: 110-meter hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump, 4×100 relay, 100 dash, 4×400 relay. He won the OIA 110 hurdles title last spring.

There are five football scholarship offers on the table: Army, Colorado, Hawaii, Navy and UNLV. He’s in no rush to pick one; National Letter of Intent signing day isn’t until February.

Through all the changes at Kahuku — three head coaches in the past three years — he’s been a rock. He has watched Vavae Tata arrive and put his unique imprint on a program loaded with so much expectation.

“When Coach came in from the first day, we adapted easily. We didn’t really know who he was, but the way he explains things makes it a lot easier for us. We have a college atmosphere. He knows what it takes to get here and what it’s like,” Santiago said.

Santiago possesses something every coach values: maturity.

“He’s a quiet leader, but when he speaks, everybody listens because he has earned that respect,” Tata said. “He has played a lot of football and I can’t wait to watch him during his college career.”

He was a Koolauloa Pop Warner football player, then spent eighth grade at the heels of his dad, Louis, who served as a key assistant coach for some of the greatest Kahuku defenses in recent memory. Those units, led by the likes of former All-State defensive player of the year Kawe Johnson, provided Santiago with plenty of inspiration.

“We grew up around them. Many of us were managers of the team back them. Me, Kekoa (Sasaoka), Manaia (Atuaia), Kesi (Ah-Hoy), Ra (Elkington). We were always looking up to them, and now we’re where they used to be,” Santiago said. “There’s a ton of kids who come out and come shake our hands.”

The comparisons of those stellar “Sharks” secondary units to this year’s group are legitimate.

“I like it. It shows how we stack up compared to them,” he said.

After all, it’s the final result that matters. In the classroom. On the field. It starts with those long hours studying at home in Hauula. The quiet, laid-back guy knows exactly what he is doing.