To chase his dream, Jacob Yoro went without a car, lived in a co-worker’s basement, and dined on “a lot of ramen and a lot of ham sandwiches.”

On Monday, Yoro was named a full-time assistant coach for the University of Hawaii football team. Following the first spring practice, he was allowed to eat at the training-table lunch.

“It’s awesome to come back home after an entire process,” said Yoro, a 1995 All-State linebacker for Saint Louis. “To pursue a college coaching dream, you have to make a lot of sacrifices.”

Yoro coached at several Hawaii high schools, was defensive coordinator and recruiting specialist at Pacific, and coached defensive backs at Cal Poly before joining the Rainbow Warriors.

“At the end of the day, whether I got paid a million dollars or the $500 a season at the high school level, I was doing what I felt I was wired to do,” Yoro said. “I was coaching football. I put my nose to the grindstone and figured if I continued to work hard, things would work out for me. I’m blessed for this opportunity. I’m excited to be home.”

Yoro relinquished play-calling duties when he moved from Pacific, a Division III school, to Cal Poly, an FCS program. After years coaching linebackers, he coached the secondary at Cal Poly.

“It prepared me for this venture here,” said Yoro, who will coach the UH safeties.

UH coach Nick Rolovich said Yoro is a “proven X’s-and-O’s guy. He grinded his way through levels where you don’t make a lot of money. But he loves the game, and he’s got an investment in this state and this university.”

Rolovich, who often invokes the “pride rock” theme from “The Lion King,” said Yoro is “another Simba walking in the door.”

Yoro’s toughness was displayed as a Saint Louis senior when he suffered an ACL injury early in the season but came back to play in the Prep Bowl. “I went through physical therapy,” Yoro said. “I got the knee so strong I could withstand the lack of a ligament. We braced it and played on it. I played that game without an ACL.”

Numbers game

The Rainbow Warriors distributed a spring roster that was missing single-digit jersey numbers. It was a motivational tool in which players had to earn those numbers. That meant new numbers for tight end Tui Unga, linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard, defensive end David Manoa, nose tackle Kiko Faalologo and wideout Devan Stubblefield.

“I’m all about challenges,” said Manoa, who used to wear No. 3. “It’s not a big deal. I’ve already set my mind to work hard this camp. It’s another thing to motivate players.”

Unga, who used to wear No. 7, already has been assigned a leadership role. “We challenged him early,” Rolovich said. “As soon as the (2016) season was over, he’s been nothing but that senior leader we hoped he’d be.”

Unga is admittedly not at ease telling others what to do, but “sometimes people need that voice to get back on track. If that’s what the team needs me to do, I’ll do that.”

Loneliness of a kicker

Alex Trifonovitch is his only competition — so far – this spring. With Rigo Sanchez’s graduation and walk-on Stephen Yaffe’s departure, Trifonovitch is the only place-kicker on the roster.

Trifonovitch used to be a kicker until his sophomore year at Punahou School, when he focused solely on punting. He signed as a punter with UH in February 2015. Trifonovitch said he has practiced his place-kicking in practices. This past season, he also kicked off three times.

He said his field-goal range is 50 yards. “It’s a matter of proving to Mayur (Chaudhari, the special teams coordinator) I can do it consistently and get the job done,” Trifonovitch said.

The Warriors are holding tryouts for kickers and quarterbacks who already are in school. They also have a scholarship available if they wish to add a summer recruit.