Hawaii football player Michael Eletise has learned that with great power comes a great amount of requests.
Lots and lots of requests.
“You would not even know,” said Eletise, whose back-squat lift of 675 pounds was tops among Rainbow Warriors this summer and spurred pleas from friends and family to move appliances and furniture. “There are a lot of people. They’re like, ‘Hey, move this couch.’ By myself? It’s still a couch. I can only lift one side.”
His biggest move came in February, when he announced he was transferring from Arizona to UH. It was a surprising homecoming decision from Eletise, who was an All-State offensive lineman and 4-star prospect as a Kaiser High senior in 2016. That season, ESPN named Eletise as the nation’s ninth-best offensive tackle.
Eletise played in 12 games as a sophomore for the Wildcats last season, and was projected to have a significant role if he stayed. But he cited family and personal factors in his decision to transfer. Those reasons were detailed in an appeal to the NCAA that he hopes will allow him to play this season without redshirting. The NCAA requires players transferring between FBS schools to sit out a season.
“I would love to know,” Eletise said of his appeal’s status. “Every day, I wake up thinking, ‘Will I know today?’ ”
Whatever the ruling, Eletise said, “I’ve come to terms that if I don’t play, I’ll do my best to help the team out on the scout offense (in practices). And if I do play, I’ll do my best when I’m on the field and in practice.”
On Monday, the third practice of training camp, Eletise was at left guard on the second unit. “That’s where he’s comfortable,” offensive line coach Mark Weber said of the guard spot. “It’s a spot where he’s got a chance to play some. He, maybe, could bounce to tackle. Right now, we’ll leave him where’s he’s comfortable.”
Eletise has been at ease since announcing his transfer. He remained at Arizona through the spring semester, living in the same building with several former teammates and future opponents. UH opens the season against Arizona on Aug. 24 at Aloha Stadium.
“It was a little awkward when they’d come home from spring ball, maybe talk about stuff, and I’m like, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t be talking about this stuff because we’ll be playing each other,’ ” Eletise recalled. “We joke around while we’re playing video games — who’s going to de-cleat who. It’s all fun and games while we’re chilling at the house.”
Eletise said he signed with Arizona “not just for the football program, but to live on my own and learn different things about the world, and that it would mature me.” His return to Hawaii was based on “some things I had to take care of. At the end of the day, I love football, but football is only one thing in my life. It might be a huge part of it, but there are things that also are important, like school and family and church.”
Since returning, Eletise has reunited with Kaiser alumni who play for the Warriors: linebacker Parker Higgins and defensive ends Andrew Choi and Chance Kalaugher, who joined the Warriors in the spring.
After Kalaugher “left for basketball (at Saddleback College), I thought, ‘This was the last time we’ll ever see each other,’ ” Eletise said. “Now our locker rooms are right next to each other. It’s funny how life works out.”
