For the Hawaii football team, the powerball number is 54.
It was the jersey number worn by linebacker Falaniko “Niko” Noga, one of the greatest Rainbow Warriors. Noga starred in opposing quarterbacks’ nightmares, blocked kicks, and once moved to nose tackle to battle to a draw with Nebraska center Dave Rimington. This is the 25th season the Rimington Trophy will be presented to the nation’s best college center.
During the opening scene of the “Dick Tomey Show,” a shirtless Noga is shown running. After that, it was noted Noga’s skin appeared to be too tight on his body.
Noga’s younger brother, defensive lineman Al Noga, was the next to wear No. 54. In 1986, the “Samoan Sack Man” knocked out two UTEP quarterbacks in the same game. Afterward, UTEP coach Bob Stull said the Miners got “Noganized.” Later, Noga knocked out two New Mexico players on the same play.
After a crushing 44-0 loss to UH in 1987, Fullerton coach Gene Murphy claimed Al Noga was from another planet. “Planet Kalihi,” Noga said.
Al Noga is the only Rainbow Warrior to be named as a first-team Associated Press All-American.
Growing up in Kahaluu, Chris Brown was a fan of Warriors who wore No. 54, insisting it had the same importance as 55 — Junior Seau’s jersey number — to USC. “If you wore 54, you embodied what it meant to be a true Warrior,” Brown said.
After joining the Warriors as a linebacker in 1998, Brown was assigned No. 54.
“Al Noga was the guy who inspired me to wear that number,” Brown said. “I wanted to be just like him, so feared on the field. When I watched Al Noga, and I saw the muscles coming out of his arms — the tenacity of him destroying quarterbacks, the energy and the fire — I said, ‘Oh, man, that’s the guy I want to be.’ The moment I could wear that number, I took it.”
During a standout career with the Warriors, Brown spoke of his admiration for the Noga brothers. One day, Niko Noga and Al Noga showed up at the UH weight room, where Brown was getting his daily iron.
“They read the article, and they came to thank me for giving them that respect,” Brown recalled. “It was like meeting my childhood heroes.”
Brown had a brief stint with the Baltimore Ravens, then went on to a coaching career at Bishop Gorman High in Summerlin, Nev., and eventually a return to his alma mater as associate head coach, linebackers coach and weight-training consultant.
After the last game Brown played as a Warrior, 11 players on offense and defense wore 54 through the 2022 season. Ahead of UH’s 2023 training camp, special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield gave Josh Atkins the offense’s No. 54. Remembering that Jamih Otis was coached by Brown at Bishop Gorman, Sheffield offered the freshman linebacker the defense’s No. 54.
“There were a lot of great players to wear 54, a lot of great history behind that number,” Otis said. “With CB being my mentor, my coach, my role model for so long, I felt like wearing that number would be a blessing, too. I took that on and ran with it ever since.”
This past Saturday, Otis made his first start. He amassed 11 tackles, including eight solo stops and a sack.
“To see that number running around and doing those things brings a little extra pride to me,” Brown said. “Jamih’s a tackling machine. People in Vegas still talk about him. He was one of the greats to ever come out of that school.”
Brown saw that potential when Otis was a Bishop Gorman freshman. Otis was in the playing rotation that year, and then was the Gaels’ starting middle linebacker the next three seasons.
Brown joined UH’s coaching staff in January 2022, the spring semester of Otis’ junior year at Bishop Gorman. In building a recruiting plan, the newly hired Chang asked each of his assistant coaches to describe his prototypical prospect. Brown provided a picture of Otis. Brown said his must-sign prospects for the 2023 class were Bishop Gorman’s Otis, nickelback Elijah Palmer and defensive lineman Aiden McComber. The summer ahead of the 2022 season, Brown offered all three UH scholarships.
“He developed me from day one when I came in (as a Bishop Gorman freshman),” Otis said of Brown. “He made me into the player I am today.”
Brown said Otis “is one of those guys you can win with and do great things with because of his mentality and work ethic.”
On Monday, Otis was named the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Week.
