When Jonah Kahahawai-Welch continued to sprout, past 6 feet to 6-2 as a Kamehameha senior in 2018, his cousin Gerald Welch proudly proclaimed, “That’s the Welch genes.”
Welch is 5-7.
But the cousins appear to share the same workmanlike DNA. Both were high school football standouts — Kahahawai-Welch at Kamehameha, Welch at Saint Louis — and highly regarded University of Hawaii recruits. Welch, now Saint Louis’ athletic director, was a slotback. After an injury-filled start to his UH career, Kahahawai-Welch, a fifth-year junior, is competing as a rush end with the first-team defense this spring.
“I’ve been encouraging him to never give up,” Welch said. “I played early on at UH, but as more recruits came in, I fell down the depth chart. But I worked hard, and it paid off. I got playing time. That’s kind of what’s happened to him. I told him: ‘Keep working hard and keep practicing, and see where it takes you. Don’t give up. You’ve got the rest of your life to work. You only have so many years to play college football.’”
Kahahawai-Welch, who weighs 230, is a fit in the Warriors’ flexible defense. As a rush end, he can drop into coverage, bracket the edge, tackle running backs and, best of all, heat-seek quarterbacks.
“Greatest feeling ever,” Kahahawai-Welch said of sacks. “When we can get to the quarterback, it makes it easier for the guys behind us. We’ve got to play for each other. … When they know we’re coming, it can help our linebackers, our DBs to get some good coverage behind us. When the quarterback feels our pressure and presence, we know we’re doing something — selfless service.”
Kahahawai-Welch also adheres to the priority list.
“As much as I want to sack the quarterback, we can’t do it unless we stop the run first,” he said. “As long as we play sound and keep the linemen off our linebackers, it’s the greatest thing we can do.”
Kahahawai-Welch was set for the Naval Academy until he withdrew his commitment a few days before the early signing period in December 2017.
Two of his first three UH seasons were impacted when he suffered injuries to his shoulder and left meniscus. When he was healthy, it was mostly for special teams.
In 2018, Kahahawai-Welch’s freshman season, Jacob Yoro coached the hybrid defensive ends. Yoro moved around after that, but this season he is the defensive coordinator. Yoro also coaches the outside linebackers and rush ends. “It’s all coming back full circle,” Kahahawai-Welch said.
“Jonah’s always been a hard worker,” Yoro said. “There have been a lot of injuries throughout his career. It’s nice to see him out there healthy and doing what he likes to do. He has a good skill set, and understands how to rush the passer. At the end of the day, it’s his motor. He’s a relentless pass rusher. We’re going to need (that) going into the fall.”
During the offseason, Kahahawai-Welch has been used as a host for recruiting visits. He shows the sights and tells the back stories.
“Just tell them the raw and the truth about this place,” he said. “That’s what they want to hear.”
He also does not back away from sharing his view of the turmoil last year, which resulted in five defensive starters transferring and several players griping publicly about the atmosphere under then-head coach Todd Graham. Timmy Chang was hired as head coach in January after Graham resigned.
“I tell people it was the greatest thing to go through what we went through,” Kahahawai-Welch said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in right now. It made us come together even more to understand the team is all we’ve got. We’re the ones who step in between the lines on Saturday nights — not the coaches, not the trainers, not the people in the media. They’re not stepping on the field. It’s the players who step on the field. At the end of the day, that’s what we’ve got to keep reminding ourselves. It was the greatest lesson we ever went through.”
