Former Hawaii linebacker Solomon Matautia aiming for a shot at pro football

Each day, Solomon Matautia picks up things around the house.

Any object becomes a weight-training tool for curls, cleans and lunges. With a boxed case of soda in each hand, he does several sets of side lifts.

“I needed something in the 20-pound range,” Matautia said. “That was the best I could get.”

Matautia, a former University of Hawaii linebacker, is preparing for an opportunity — any opportunity — to be invited to a pro-football camp. The NFL Draft is this week, with undrafted signings following Saturday’s final round.

Matautia, an All-State safety as a Campbell High senior in 2015, amassed 258 tackles the past three UH seasons, leading the Rainbow Warriors in stops in 2018 and finishing second in 2017 and 2019. Matautia and safety Ikem Okeke each had a team-high three interceptions the past season.

“I hope to get to a camp,” said Matautia, who aspires to an invitation from the NFL or Canadian Football League, “and show what I can do, especially from what I’ve done the last couple months.”

In January, Matautia was pushing 250 pounds. At the Newsweek Hula Bowl, he weighed 241. Now Matautia, who is 6 feet 1, weighs 233 pounds.

Matautia credits a self-developed program he follows while living at his girlfriend’s house in Waianae. Tammy Viliamu is a former Rainbow Wahine softball player. Her father, Peter Viliamu, is a former offensive lineman for Waipahu High and UH.

The Viliamu family’s garage was transformed into a home gym. “I’m pretty lucky,” Matautia said. “A lot of people can only do push-ups and sit-ups and squats. I have weights. For me, it’s ‘zombie apocalypse.’ I have all my fitness stuff around. It’s a really good situation for me. I can keep smashing out weights.”

To supplement his training, he will lift objects inside the house and make use of whatever he can outside. He said he wraps a bands around a light pole for resistance exercises. “I use the light pole as a partner,” Matautia said.

He also places rope ladders and padded step-over bags on the street for agility drills. “It takes me back to when I was a kid,” Matautia said, “and we had to yell, ‘car.’ When I’m doing my drills, I have to look out for cars.”

Tammy serves as quarterback for ball-skill drills.

“My girlfriend has had to learn about football the last couple weeks,” Matautia said. “My girlfriend is my workout partner. She’s the one who throws the balls.”

Matautia praised the UH staff for his past success. “Everybody at UH has done an amazing job helping me out,” he said. “Without the supporting staff, the academic staff, the trainers, the equipment managers, I wouldn’t have had the success I’ve had in my career. It’s a huge credit to all of them.”

But Matautia said he regrets not making full use of the opportunities at UH. Matauia, who earned a bachelor’s degree in December, said he can focus fully on training without worrying about other obligations.

“As sad as it is to say, and one day I may regret it, I know I could have done more in my career,” Matautia said. “With everything going on, and me having to figure things out on my own, it’s taught me a lot. I learned a lot of training things and how to do it at home. It’s been really good for me. I feel I’m in the best shape I’ve probably ever been in. … It only made me think, if I was working this hard the last four or five years, where would I be in my career? That’s one thing that’s been pushing me.”