Eight seconds — the average it takes a person to answer the telephone — might not seem like a long time.
“When you’re on a bull,” Hawaii wideout Keelan Ewaliko said, “the eight seconds is damn near a lifetime. You just hang on and pray you make the eight seconds. And after you get off, you hope you don’t get hurt too bad.”
Years before he was a UH senior starter, Ewaliko was a champion bull rider on Maui. What started as a dare — “You want to try this?” his father asked when he was 11 — turned into a passion. In pursuit of the eight-second qualifying time on a 2,000-pound bull, Ewaliko has been kicked, stepped on, kicked and then stepped on, and sometimes he was on the ground staring at the belly of the beast.
“You’ve got guys shocking him and making him all mad,” Ewaliko said. “You’ve got the bull all (upset) before I even get in (the bucking chute). When I finally get in there, he’s jumping everywhere. It makes it that much harder to get in there. It comes with the job. That’s how it is. I love the challenge.”
Bull riding was one avenue to quench Ewaliko’s restlessness. He was born to run.
“Some of these classes (at UH) go for three hours,” Ewaliko said. “I’m like … I … can’t … do … this. What is going on? Can we go outside and do some outside learning.”
His active gene led him to soccer, baseball, track and field, and football. On the gridiron, he was a running quarterback who also punted, kicked and returned punts and kicks. At UH, that versatility extended to playing running back, slotback, defensive back and wideout.
He could play everything but the waiting game. Either because of more talented teammates or his struggles to fully comprehend the read-and-react routes, Ewaliko was largely ignored in the first seven games last year. “I could have sat there and sulked all I wanted, but you just put your nose to the dirt and just grind,” Ewaliko said.
In the final six games, Ewaliko made all 15 of his catches while averaging 21.8 yards per catch after the third quarter. His 56-yard scoring catch proved to be the winner against UMass, ensuring the Warriors a bowl berth.
“My grind really paid off,” Ewaliko said. “I took advantage of every opportunity I was able to get. I’m proud and happy and really appreciative of the opportunities I have to be a starter. I can always get better. You can never stop trying to get better.”
Ewaliko is on track to earning a bachelor’s degree. That graduation party promises to match his high school celebration — when he rented a mechanical bull.
SCOUTING REPORT: RECEIVERS
With depth, the Warriors can go with many looks. The most basic begins with wideouts Keeelan Ewaliko and Ammon Barker, slotback John Ursua, and tight end Metuisela ‘Unga. But they can go faster, using Ursua and Dylan Collie in tandem, or taller with Marcus Armstrong-Brown, Barker and Kalakaua Timoteo or Davine Tullis in the slot. There also is a bruiser combo of ‘Unga, a headache for a linebacker or safety to cover one-on-one, and Dakota Torres, who can align next to the tackle or in the backfield. Two nearly forgotten wideouts — Isaiah Bernard, who redshirted as a senior last year, and Devan Stubblefield, recovering from a knee injury — are ready to emerge.
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WIDEOUTS
12 | Keelan Ewaliko | 5-11 | 200 | Sr. | Wailuku
80 | Ammon Barker | 6-4 | 225 | Sr. | Salt Lake City
84 | Isaiah Bernard | 6-1 | 190 | Sr. | Santa Clarita, Calif.
85 | Marcus Armstrong-Brown | 6-3 | 210 | Jr. | Napa, Calif.
9 | Devan | Stubblefield | 6-0 | 190 | Jr. | Ewa Beach
SLOTBACKS
5 | John Ursua | 5-10 | 165 | So. | Kailua-Kona
23 | Dylan Collie | 5-10 | 175 | Jr. | El Dorado, Calif.
30 | Davine Tullis | 6-1 | 195 | So. | Seattle
81 | Kalakaua Timoteo | 6-1 | 190 | Sr. | Mililani
TIGHT ENDS
7 | Metuisela ‘Unga | 6-5 | 240 | Sr. | Rochester, Calif.
45 | Dakota Torres | 6-2 | 245 | Jr. | Waianae
47 | Kaiwi Chung | 5-11 | 240 | Jr. | Honolulu
