As a youngster, Savai‘i Eselu did not play Pop Warner football. He started in the sport as a freshman at Moanalua.

“We didn’t have enough money,” he said. “Pop Warner was crazy expensive. I was too big for my age, so I did my thing with basketball. I played a lot. I was actually thinking I could play college basketball.”

Two of Eselu’s best friends — Stanford Leti and Quinton Tang — goaded Eselu into trying out for football.

“I started out on the defensive line and my father (Ray Eselu) was a D-line coach in my first season in 2003,” he said. “I jumped up to the varsity sophomore year with coach (Arnold) Martinez and became a tight end. We ran the triple option. Stanford Leti was crazy good at the triple option. We were in the White Division. Senior year, we jumped up to the Red and got smacked everywhere. It was all good. I utilized football as a tool to a free education. It worked out well. Maybe not my body, but definitely the free degree.”

Eselu busted up his knee and had seven concussions along that college football path.

“That’s what shut me down at Cal,” he said. “Early on, it was the knee. Then after the last concussion, I was like, ‘This is going to stop right now.’ I still get strong migraines and have short-term memory loss. I should have been a pitcher.”

Upon his graduation from Moanalua in 2007, most of the Pac-10 (not 12 teams yet) offered Eselu.

“USC, my dream school, was the only place that didn’t offer,” he said. “I was committed to Oregon for the longest time. I visited and told coach Mike Bellotti I was a Duck. Then Stanford called. Cal was on the rise, with (running back) Marshawn Lynch, (quarterback) Aaron Rodgers and (wide receiver) DeSean Jackson. I was watching on TV when Cal smacked Oregon bad. I went to the Stanford-Cal game and started looking at Cal degrees — the No. 1 public university in the world, actually. I was like, ‘Let’s do this.’ My sister Sanoe was playing volleyball close by at Menlo.”

Sanoe, incidentally, is married to former University of Hawaii standout running back Nate Ilaoa.

“I flipped for the degree,” Eselu said. “It’s pretty cool, because now that I look at it, that Cal class was loaded — (running back) Jahvid Best, (running back) Shane Vereen, (defensive end) Cameron Jordan, (offensive tackle) Mitchell Schwartz. I also played with (wide receiver) Keenan Allen, Alex Mack was our center, and my classmate, Chris Conte, went on to play in the secondary for the (Chicago) Bears and (Tampa Bay) Bucs.”

Eselu’s knee injury came near the end of his freshman year.

“Everything exploded,” he said. “The doctor said the LCL is gone, the PCL is gone, the meniscus (is torn), the ACL is going to start giving out and that I have nothing left to support it. If I had surgery, I was going to miss a year. I decided to get surgery later, figuring I would have a better shot at the NFL. It was the dumbest decision ever. It was bad.

“I thought I could work my way up, but I never recovered. I tried to compensate and it made me slower. I was getting tagged by linebackers because I was a step slower. It was messing me up. That’s where the concussions came. I got in one game when we played Eastern Washington. I was always a backup tight end (from 2007 through ’10). I technically could have had a fifth year, but Coach (Jeff) Tedford asked me to open it up for someone else.”

Interestingly, Eselu’s favorite moment in high school came when Na Menehune played their way up to the Red Division.

“We got to play Kahuku my senior year,” he said. “I always wanted the challenge and they were the challenge right there. We knew we worked our butts off to get to the Red. Yeah, we got stomped on, but I’d rather be stomped on by the top than be the champ on the bottom.”

Eselu feels fortunate to have had his father as an assistant at Moanalua for his four years and as a part of his staff now.

“From him, I learned you never give up, and make do with what you’ve got and roll with it,” he said. “Don’t expect people to give you stuff if you don’t deserve it.”

Eselu’s wife, Tatiana, was a lineman in youth football with the Palama Scorpions. She is the sister of Tyson Alualu, who is now a defensive end with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Eselu does take coaching tips from Tatiana.

“When mama says practice is over, practice is over,” he said.

MOANALUA NA MENEHUNE AT A GLANCE

2018 record and finish: 8-1 (7-0 OIA Division I); Lost to Castle 28-14 in OIA D-I semifinals.

Head coach Savai’i Eselu’s staff:

>> Savai’i Eseulu (offensive coordinator, offensive line)

>> Lasi Eselu (defensive coordinator)

>> Jarrett Tanigawa (secondary)

>> Ray Eselu (defensive line)

>> Ray Sayers (defensive backs)

>> Micah Kaneshiro (quarterbacks)

>> Jon-Michael Sharsh (receivers)

>> Chaz Barit (defensive analyst)

>> Nick Miller (offensive analyst)

>> Aaron Hudman (offensive line)

Approximate varsity and JV numbers: 45 varsity, 45 JV

All-time state championships: None

All-time Prep Bowl (1973-1998) championships: None

All-time OIA championships: 1 (D-II, 2009)

2019 conference: OIA Division I