PROVO, Utah >> University of Hawaii linebacker Jahlani Tavai plays with his heart on his sleeve, and Saturday you could read the name that came with it.
On his white right sleeve Tavai wrote in bold marker “Cooper” in memory of his Mira Costa (Calif.) high school trainer and mentor, Timothy Cooper.
“I found out just before the game that he died from cancer,” a still emotional Tavai said after UH’s 49-23 loss to Brigham Young University in which he registered a game-high 11 tackles, including a sack.
“He was one of my mentors in high school, one of the greatest guys you’ll ever meet, and he taught me a lot,” Tavai said. “It was upsetting to lose somebody like that. I took that with me when I stepped on the field tonight.”
But Tavai, a senior team captain, said, “You’ll never see me give less than 100 percent. It is about me giving it all I’ve got for him and this team. That’s why I came back, to go to battle with these guys,” Tavai said.
Tavai, who is on pace to pass Solomon Elimimian as UH’s all-time leader in tackles, has 388 tackles, trailing only Elimimian’s 434 with five regular-season games and the possibility of a bowl game to go.
Opportunity slips away from Matautia
Linebacker Solomon Matautia is considered one of the Rainbow Warriors’ most athletic defenders. But with UH trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Matauia mishandled what could have been an interception.
“I’ve got no hands,” Matautia mused. “I have to owe the defense a ‘W’ now. I just dropped it.”
Matautia led the Warriors with three interceptions last season.
“I tried to make a play,” he said. “I tried to be fancy when I made the play. It’s better to make the play instead of trying to make it fancy.”
Warriors expected to face Wilson
The worst-kept secret was not hidden from the Warriors.
The Warriors had practiced with the intent of playing against BYU’s Zach Wilson, the seventh true freshman to play quarterback in the program’s history. Wilson opened in place of senior Tanner Mangum, who started the first six games.
“We knew he liked to run more,” Matautia said of Wilson. “We thought they liked him more. We anticipated 11 (Wilson) being in the game, and he did a great job.”
Tavai said the plan was to pressure Wilson.
“Our job was to make sure he stayed in the pocket, make plays against him,” Tavai said. “I give props to BYU. They did what they knew we were going to do, and they scored on us a few times, a bunch of times.”
