Kolby Wyatt is looking to expand his horizons — on and off the football field.

As a self-described student of the game, Wyatt is hoping to maximize his potential as a defensive lineman with the help of the University of Hawaii coaching staff.

“Because they all have their own individual backgrounds, I feel like they all have their own knowledge and tricks of the trade,” Wyatt said. “I feel like I’m around a lot of great football minds and I could just learn and absorb a lot of different stuff.”

Off the field, Wyatt has also taken up cooking, something he picked up from his family during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was home for the first time for a long time during college. I was like, ‘I will start cooking,’” Wyatt said. “When I got out here, I started cooking for other people and it just grew from there.”

Originally a walk-on defensive lineman at Georgia, Wyatt transitioned to tight end for the Bulldogs in the spring of 2019. He transferred to UH at the end of 2020, playing four games as a backup tight end before switching back to the defensive line this season.

“One thing I’ll say about tight end: You still got to get down and physical in the trenches,” Wyatt said. “Instead of making the blocks, I just got to beat the block.”

Wyatt took reps with the second-team defense in team drills during Tuesday’s practice. UH defensive line coach Eti Ena hopes to run a rotation of linemen to keep them fresh during the season, and Wyatt is among those who have impressed him.

“I really appreciate how hard he works. He’s very observant and very detailed in learning this stuff,” Ena said. “He always goes hard, has a good skill set, and is really picking up the defense fast.”

One thing Wyatt has not picked up is how to cook local foods. He said his favorite type of food to cook is Hispanic foods such as tacos and burritos, but no one has given him any local recipes.

“I tried them, but I don’t know how to make them,” he said. “I would love to learn to make them.”