Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Most coaches at Wednesday’s GPA Football Showcase didn’t know the names of the players they were guiding, so a kid by the name of Tupu Alualu won the defensive lineman MVP award on merit — and not by name recognition.
“I didn’t know there was a Tupu Alualu guy from Moanalua,” said coach Ma’a Tanuvasa, the former NFL defensive end, after the “Men in the Trenches” portion of the camp ended late Wednesday afternoon at Kamehameha’s Kunuiakea Stadium.
Alualu’s brother is Tyson Alualu, who starred at Saint Louis and is now a defensive lineman with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alualu’s uncle, and namesake, is Tupu Alualu, a running back for the University of Hawaii in the 1990s.
“He looks special,” said Tanuvasa, a Mililani assistant who won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos in 1999 and 2000. “He looks like his (brother). He has those kind of moves. He must be working out with him because he moves really well.”
It turns out that Alualu does work out with his brother every summer, but not yet this year.
“I’ll fly out for two weeks and work with him and his personal trainer,” the Moanalua senior-to-be said.
A year ago, Alualu was a big part of Na Menehune defensive line that helped the team advance past Kailua 17-14 in the first round of the OIA playoffs.
“I saw a lot of raw talent today,” Tanuvasa said. “There was a Molokai kid who was incredible (junior Clancey Wright, Jr.) and reminds me a lot of Kimo von Oelhoffen. It will be interesting to see how he does and who he works with.”
Von Oelhoffen, who is also from Molokai and played 14 years in the NFL as a defensive lineman, was one of the coaches at the camp, and he was also impressed with Wright’s ability.
Alualu, Wright and Kapaa senior Patrick Peters were the three defensive selections among the eight most outstanding “Men in the Trenches.”
Micah Soliai-Howlett headed the class of offensive linemen Wednesday. The junior-to-be will play for Kahuku as a transfer from Kamehameha.
“Back home. Laie,” he said.
Jesse Sapolu, the four-time Super Bowl winner as a center for the San Francisco 49ers, had some positive words about Soliai-Howlett.
“Consistent, consistent,” Sapolu said. “He plays a tough position and he went up against some good competition. He always picked the best guy on the other side to go up against and was consistent. I had to choose him (as the MVP), but the other guys did great, too.”
Kahuku junior Marcus Lombard, Pac-Five senior Leif Ericson Fautanu, McKinley senior Tamatoa Aga and Kaimuki senior Hunter Mulu were the other four most outstanding offensive linemen.
“(Fautanu), an inside guy, he’s got the ability to probably climb up to the D-I level. His technique is not bad. He can sharpen some things. He’s going to be like me, a little bit on the undersized side.”
But it was Soliai-Howlett who got the biggest O-line hardware.
“Oh yeah, I try to be consistent,” he said, referring to Sapolu’s assessment, “with school and on the field. I don’t like to miss training or workouts. I was mad that I couldn’t lift today because of the camp. But it was for a good reason and gotta get rest for the camp.”
Soliai-Howlett gave a shout out to a teammate on the other side of the trench.
“Kenei Liua, watch for that guy next season,” Soliai-Howlett said.
81
