The signs were everywhere.
“Free Ewaliko” had become synonymous with “Where’s Waldo?”
Entering his junior season with the University of Hawaii football team, Keelan Ewaliko was set to return kickoffs and exhaust defensive backs with his sprinter’s speed on receiver go routes.
But he lost a fumble on a kickoff return in the opener in Australia, and then things really went down under after that. After the third game, he was displaced as the returner. He also never found his way into the receivers’ rotation, with only one pass — an incompletion — thrown his way through the first eight games. He could be found on the sideline during games.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘I deserve to play,’” Ewaliko said. “But if I feel that way, I need to show it. That was it. It was my inner drive. I know I can contribute to the team in all kinds of ways. I really needed to show it and prove it.”
His first priority was to improve his grip. He said he believed it was his opening-game fumble and a near turnover in an ensuing game that led to his diminished playing time.
“I had to change the way I held the ball because apparently the ball security wasn’t the best,” Ewaliko said.
He also focused on refreshing his pass-catching skills with 6 a.m. workouts using the JUGS machine. To do that, Ewaliko, who lives in Waipahu, goes to bed between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. He awakens at 4 a.m., then leaves the house at 4:30 a.m.
“It’s not fun,” he said of the early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule, “but it’s the sacrifice you’ve got to do.”
A few weeks ago, Ewaliko’s reps increased in practice. He adjusted to the Warriors’ new hybrid offense in which receivers have multiple responsibilities.
“It’s not wideouts or slots, it’s receivers,” Ewaliko said. “The outside (receiver) has to know what the inside guy is doing. It’s all about concepts. We have different formations where the wideout is the inside guy. You have to know all the slot routes as well as the outside routes.”
In the past week’s game against New Mexico, Ewaliko was summoned, aligning wide and in the slot. He was targeted four times, catching two passes for 31 yards.
Head coach Nick Rolovich said Ewaliko, who is one of the fastest Warriors, has earned an expanded role.
“He committed to ball security,” Rolovich said, “and to being the best teammate he could be, and controlling what he could control, and working hard.”
It also might mean a new slogan. Ewaliko said he does not know who produced the “Free Ewaliko” shirts and signs, but he thought they were amusing and he appreciated the support. As for now, Ewaliko said, “you have to take it day by day, and show through your effort and your work ethic.”
