As complicated as football can seem, it does not take a scientist to figure out the sport.

But if it did, Hawaii defensive lineman Makai Manuwai would be more than qualified.

Manuwai is a junior majoring in chemistry. His cumulative grade-point average is 3.5. His interests are the same as Bill Belichick’s and Bill Nye’s.

“I’ve been a science guy my whole life,” said Manuwai, who aspires to a career in medicine. “I love the elements, compounds, all that stuff.”

At the end of his junior year at South Medford (Ore.) High, he received Ivy-adorned interest from Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard.

In 2016, he graduated with a 4.0 GPA.

“My mom was hard on me,” he said of Becca Manuwai’s encouragement of academic excellence. “She made sure we were doing well in school. She made sure we stayed on top of our work.”

But the football opportunities began to evaporate when he suffered an injury to his left ankle while training in the summer leading to his senior year. He said surgery was required to repair the cartilage damage. As a result, his senior season was abbreviated to three games.

He then decided to enroll at UH as a regular student for the 2016 fall semester. At the time, he had several relatives in Hawaii, including his first cousin, Vince Manuwai, a former UH and NFL offensive lineman.

That semester he came in contact with Legi Suiaunoa, who had been hired to coach the Rainbow Warriors’ defensive linemen. Manuwai was among 22 UH students to participate in the walk-on tryouts in February 2017.

Manuwai, who played tight end and defensive end at South Bedford, aced the audition and “they let me on the team.” A week later, Suiaunoa was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Manuwai was a member of the scout team in 2017. Suiaunoa departed after that season, joining Oregon State as a defensive line coach.

In UH’s new 4-2-5 scheme in 2018, Manuwai expanded his role, playing in seven games. He also received All-Mountain West academic honors.

“He’s good for our team,” said Ricky Logo, who coaches the defensive linemen. “Reliable, accountable, a guy that I trust. He’s a guy whose teammates trust him. He’s my wild-card guy who I can move on the defensive front. He’s accepted that role.”

Manuwai can play the 3 technique (opposite the gap between the offensive guard and tackle) and strong-side end known as the “bandit.” In one of the sub-packages, Manuwai aligns at nose tackle.

“He works hard,” head coach Nick Rolovich said of Manuwai. “He does whatever we ask him to do. He has a little bit of a (former Warrior) Zeno Choi role where he can do a bunch of things for us because he’s smart and cares a lot. It’s important to him.”

Logo said Manuwai is a quick study. “He can mentally execute the assignment,” Logo said. “It takes once or twice, and he’s got it.”

This Saturday’s game against Oregon State will have special significance for Manuwai. He once made the two-hour drive to Corvallis to attend the Beavers’ football camp. OSU had also shown interest in Manuwai before he suffered the injury.

And, as with every practice, he finds inspiration in the memory of Vince Manuwai, who died last November.

“It was tough, unexpected,” Makai Manuwai said. “Every time I come out here (on a football field), I’m always thinking of him.”