If there were a draft of high school football players, Kaeo Akana would go quickly.

Maybe first overall. The Roosevelt defensive end has accumulated 35.5 sacks in 18 games since his sophomore year, leaving opposing coaches with that wow reaction.

“When I first saw him play, first thing that came to mind was, who is this kid? What an athlete,” Castle coach Junior Pale said. “I know when offensive coaches play Roosevelt, the first thing they ask themselves is how do we stop 51? The simple answer is you cannot. You just have to try and slow him down. He makes everyone better on that defense.”

‘Iolani played Roosevelt, but Akana was on a trip that weekend. Raiders coach Wendell Look saw ample video footage of Akana.

“He’s relentless. High motor type player. Very versatile and athletic,” Look said. “You definitely have to game-plan for him. He’s kind of built and plays like Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins.”

The 2019 season was quite an experience for the new kid on the block, Kaeo Akana.

The gangly pass rusher had just arrived at Roosevelt after St. Francis and its Division II powerhouse football program had closed down.

Akana was light on his feet. A blur off the edge. Coach Kui Kahooilihala wasn’t sure how good the 10th grader would be. Listed at 190 pounds, Akana went all out, as always, every day.

“First practice, it was spring ball. We had our sevens, one-on-ones,” Kahooilihala recalled. “Coach Jon (Kahooilihala, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach) told me, this is one of the kids from St. Francis. He was lanky. I never thought anything, but boy, his first day in one-on-one, his moves, quickness, speed — he had beaten our senior offensive tackle. It wasn’t pretty. He beat the kid so bad that he got to our quarterback. I told Coach Jon, this kid is going to the next level, man.”

Jon Kahooilihala, Kui’s nephew, remembers that day well.

“I see this tall, skinny kid, good size. My outside ’backer coach, Dom Kaaihue asks me, ‘Where you going put him?’ I told him, outside ’backer with you. (Kaaihue) turns to me and says, ‘You keep him at D-line. The kid looks good for D-end.’ After that first day, we never looked back,” Kahooilihala said.

Twenty-three and a half sacks later, his name was on the radar.

“Ever since then, Kaeo’s just put in work. Did everything that was asked of him,” Kui Kahooilihala said. “He’s a good kid.”

Jon Kahooilihala has come to appreciate Akana’s entire approach.

“His strength is his mindset. His relentless effort, fanatical energy are on another level. His leadership this year was awesome. He’s a student of the game, from film study to making calls on the field,” he said. “He reminds me of Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis with some Dick Butkus. Straight beast.”

That sophomore season blew any imaginable limitations off the door hinges. It began a process that has led to 15 scholarship offers. Earlier in 2021, not long after playing with the Trench Dawgz club team in Arizona and attending a combine in Utah, Akana committed to Boise State.

That was June 19. Utah, the new Pac-12 Conference champion this fall, came back strong. The Utes, through assistant coach Lewis Powell, were the second program to make Akana an offer, after Hawaii.

Utah invited Akana up to visit the campus and watch their big showdown with Oregon. The visit, however, would coincide with Roosevelt’s nonconference exhibition game against ILH D-I champion ‘Iolani. Akana opted to go on the trip.

“I felt like I owed Coach Powell because that was my first offer after Hawaii. I’ve seen how he develops guys and how he understands Hawaii culture, and his guys make it to the NFL. Coach Lewis is an awesome coach,” Akana said.

Kui Kahooilihala gave his blessing.

“Kaeo was bummed. He wanted to go against ‘Iolani, but I said, ‘Never mind, go do your trip. Don’t think about your game,’” he said.

Roosevelt, with eight starters out of the lineup, lost that game to ‘Iolani. Akana went to Salt Lake City, watched the Utes beat the Ducks and came home with a new perspective.

“I went over there with an open mind. I just wanted to see how they treat their players, and it was good. How the culture is, and they have a good culture,” he said. “It was a fast trip. It was an enjoyable trip. It was straight up. They told me what they would do with me and develop me.”

Last Monday, the day after returning from Utah, Akana decommitted from Boise State. As National Letter of Intent signing day approaches tomorrow, speculation is that Akana is leaning toward the Pac-12 champs.

If it all seems too easy for a kid from Pauoa Valley, it was not. For years, Akana, Jackie Johnson and his other teammates at Roosevelt and Trench Dawgz have put in the hours, the weight training and the miles. Pre-sunrise workouts at Ala Moana Beach Park. Sprints up and down the road, not far from Booth Park.

His father, former St. Francis football and baseball coach Kip Akana, built a home gym for Kaeo and older brothers Bubba and Chase. Bubba Akana stayed home for college, playing baseball for Hawaii. Chase was a speedy two-sport athlete at St. Francis.

The videos that many island athletes posted on social media had a significant effect on college recruiters. Many, like Akana, learned to establish connections with coaches across the continent while Hawaii was mired in self-imposed cancellations of fall and winter prep sports during the pandemic.

When the coast cleared somewhat, football games were back for the fall of ’21. Transferring to other schools became an option since so many sports were tabled. Akana had potential options since he, and all public-school athletes, wouldn’t have to sit out a season after transferring to a private school.

“I just stayed with my guys. I wanted to win with my guys and I wanted to lose with my guys,” said Akana, who was a force of nature as a senior at Roosevelt.

“I trained with my guys in the pandemic and they were the only ones working. We built our relationships over COVID. I don’t want to join anybody,” Akana said. “I’d rather build something.”

Now 210 pounds, Akana finished the abbreviated season with 13 sacks and 40.5 tackles, including 25 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles in five games. Roosevelt went 2-4 and missed the shrunken OIA Division I playoffs, but fielded one of the best defensive units in the state.

“We had the top defense. That’s what we felt and what we believe with Coach Jon (Kahooilihala). In D-I, everybody could win. That’s a part of the game, winning and losing. I’m grateful for these coaches and all they did for me. It felt like we built a good culture for the up-and-coming guys.”

Roosevelt was in D-II in 2019, and would have played in D-I in ’20. The bump to a higher, tougher division was the right move. This fall, the Rough Riders were in playoff contention, always going uphill. They were 0-2 after a 14-13 loss to Aiea. They were ahead of then-division-leading Moanalua 21-0 before losing 27-21. Aiea beat Moanalua for the division title over the weekend.

“This year, we didn’t win as many games as we wanted to, but I think it’s more about character-building, understanding losses are part of the game, how you deal with adversity. We had some tough games, losing games by one point, five points,” Akana said. “You come home and think about it. It’s tough to take. You can’t change what happened.”

Akana always holds himself to a basic standard about work ethic and teamwork.

“It’s understanding our roles. At least show up on time and have an enthusiastic attitude and be willing to learn,” he said. “Don’t waste anybody’s time.”

Akana’s dedication to getting faster and stronger has not waned. Everything has turned out the way it did, and he wouldn’t change a thing. Playing for a D-II, now D-I football program didn’t hinder Akana. He embraced everything.

“Whatever level, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s all the same.”

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Kaeo Akana’s favorites

>> TV shows: 1. “Peaky Blinders,” 2. “Gold Rush,” 3. WWE. “My favorite wrestler was Rey Mysterio. I just like the old guys. I don’t watch the new ones.”

>> Food: 1. Steak, 2. salmon, 3. laulau. “My dad (Kip) makes steak, usually in the frying pan. I like it medium rare. My mom (Darlani) makes baked salmon every two, three weeks.”

>> Music artists: 1. Tupac Shakur (“All Eyez On Me”), 2. Biggie Smalls (“Juicy”), 3. Warren G (“Regulate”).

>> Class: Building and Construction. “We’re building a shed. We’ve been working on this since the start of school. It’s hammers, nails, everything. Saws, screwdrivers.”

>> Athlete: Lawrence Taylor and John Randle. “I like Lawrence Taylor’s aggressiveness, how he played the game. I like John Randle’s relentlessness because he was undersized.”

>> Intended major: Psychology

>> Bucket list: “I want to take my family to Japan and New York. Japan is something different. We’ve never been there before. I like the history.”