It was Tevarua Eldridge’s childhood dream to play for the University of Hawaii football team.

Those dreams were spoken in Hawaiian.

“From preschool all the way up to eighth grade, I was in Hawaiian immersion schools,” said Eldridge, a UH defensive end who was raised on Maui.

Eldridge’s blood is a cocktail of Hawaiian, Tongan, Samoan, Tahitian, Cherokee, Irish and French. “I grew up in a Hawaiian household, and I speak Hawaiian fluently,” Eldridge said.

At Punana Leo Preschool and in first and second grades at Pa‘ia Elementary School, the lessons were taught exclusively in Hawaiian. Beginning in the third grade, the students were transitioned into reading in English. At Kalama Intermediate School, he began taking English classes.

He left the immersion system after the eighth grade because he wanted to compete in sports in high school. He developed into a football-basketball standout at Baldwin High while remaining committed to learning more about his Hawaiian culture.

“Just coming from Hawaii, I needed to keep our culture alive,” he said.

Eldridge often chants and, when he’s back on Maui, helps prepare an imu. Adhering to the ohana spirit, the kalua pig prepared in the imu is shared among family, friends, neighbors and even hungry strangers.

“In the Hawaiian culture, we have a lot of respect for our elders,” Eldridge said. “I like to learn about the specifics of our culture, and what we’re fighting for.”

Eldridge is equally dedicated on the football field. When the Rainbow Warriors changed head coaches last November, they also switched the defensive base from a 3-4 to a 4-3. In the new scheme, line coach Legi Suiaunoa said, “we needed D-end bodies. We started kicking around names.”

During spring training, Eldridge was summoned to defensive end despite not having played that position since Pop Warner. At 6 feet 2 and 230 pounds, Eldridge also does not have the prototypical D-end frame.

“He’s not a 6-4 guy,” defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said, “but he’s a solid player, a solid person. He’s really smart. Teva is an intelligent football player. He’s worked really hard. He’s been what we were looking for.”

Suiaunoa said: “There are a lot of good qualities he possesses. He’s hungry. He’s strong. He has quickness, and he’s explosive. Those things offset the size he doesn’t have.”

Last week, Eldridge often practiced on the first-team defense.

“That’s not surprising because of how important it is to him,” head coach Nick Rolovich said. “It’s important, and guys like that will get better. We need to fill the roster with guys like that, and then it’ll just take care of itself.”

Eldridge said: “I like it down in the trenches.”