Jordan Ta’amu is getting a shot at professional football.
The 2015 Pearl City alumnus, who was the full-time starting quarterback at Ole Miss last season during his senior year, was signed by the Houston Texans to their 90-man roster on Wednesday.
The Texans cut center D.J. Coker to sign Ta’amu after backup quarterback A.J. McCarron injured his thumb on Tuesday.
Ta’amu, who went undrafted, attended the Texans’ rookie minicamp for a tryout according to the Houston Chronicle.
As a senior at Ole Miss, Ta’amu threw for 3,918 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight picks and also rushed for 342 yards and six TDs.
The deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters from 90 to 53 players is Aug. 31.
In news and notes on other Hawaii high school graduates:
Dillon Gabriel
The Central Florida true freshman from Mililani is in a three-man race for the starting quarterback job after Darriel Mack Jr., who replaced McKenzie Milton at QB to end last season after Milton suffered a leg injury, broke his ankle in a non-football activity last month.
Gabriel is competing with Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush and redshirt freshman Quadry Jones for the job.
“Dillon has done a good job. He’s another guy that’s spent a ton of time in here this summer,” UCF offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby said after practice Monday. “He’s had five good days. He’s just got it. He’s got great confidence in himself. He’s got great leadership ability without having to say a whole lot. That’s something, for an 18-year-old, to be able to come in and jump in with a bunch of older guys and be able to fit in immediately.”
Jordan Iosefa
The Southern California senior linebacker will miss four to six weeks with a dislocated patella, USC coach Clay Helton told reporters on Tuesday.
The 2016 Saint Louis grad injured his knee during practice on Monday and there was fear it could be a torn ACL, which would have ended his season before it even started.
Iosefa underwent surgery on Tuesday and the timeline for his return will likely keep him out of the opener on Aug. 31 against Fresno State. USC plays Stanford in an early Pac-12 showdown on Sept. 7 and then plays at Brigham Young on Sept. 14 before a Friday night date at the Coliseum with Pac-12 preseason favorite Utah.
Wayne Taulapapa
The Virginia sophomore and 2016 Punahou alum is battling to be the Cavaliers’ starting running back and received high praise from coach Bronco Mendenhall, who told reporters on Friday, “Coming out of spring, the player that surprised us most was Wayne Taulapapa and so, he’s the most reliable if we’re saying today. Between those three, someone I hope is the primary ball carrier.”
Taulapapa, who is battling two other backs for the starting job, served a two-year church mission after signing with Virginia and played in seven games in 2018 on special teams.
Netane Muti
The Fresno State junior is back practicing with the starters at left tackle after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in the Bulldogs’ second game of the season last year.
Muti, a 2016 Leilehua alumnus, is listed at 6 feet 3 and 307 pounds and is the strongest guy on the team according to coach Jeff Tedford, who talked about Muti after Tuesday’s practice.
“He’s a really good player no doubt, but he’s even surfaced as more of a leader on the team, has more of a voice and everybody has a great deal of respect for Netane for a lot of reasons,” Tedford said. “His work ethic is great and he brings a force to the offensive line. He’s a guy you can really depend on there.”
