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STAR-ADVERTISER / 2015
Elijah Tupai, 56, joined Hawaii teammates in a haka prior to the start of a college football game against Colorado at Aloha Stadium on Sept. 3, 2015.
The University of Hawaii football team will be without offensive linemen Elijah Tupai and Kingjames Taylor this season.
Tupai has left the team because of family reasons, UH coach Nick Rolovich confirmed.
Tupai, who would have been a fifth-year senior this fall, has played in 36 games the past three seasons, making starts. He did not play in the 2016 Hawaii Bowl because of a leg injury.
“I appreciate the work he’s put in as a Warrior,” Rolovich said of Tupai. “It’s unfortunate that he won’t be with us for his senior year. I tell them faith, family, academics, football is the order of the priorities. At this point, there’s a pressing need for him that’s bigger than football.”
Taylor, who redshirted as freshman in 2016, did not meet the requirements to play this season.
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