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LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:14 am
by uhwarriors
He started 5 games as a true freshman last year. So it appears he has 4 to pay 3.

https://twitter.com/IsaiahTufaga/status/1164259252216578049

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:47 am
by Palolo_2LA
This kid is a stud just like his Dad. UH needs speed and good tacklers @ the LB position, so this bodes well for next yr.

Does this mean we got an inside track on his brahda Mason? Fingers crossed.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:52 am
by Kili
wow, great news! Local kid and a really nice piece at a very important position. Great to see that these kids are keeping the option open to come home even when they have left for the mainland.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:11 am
by Parkpill
Great get!

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 11:25 am
by EITSwarrior
Great news

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:06 pm
by Irse
Good news

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 1:27 pm
by shrek2
Seems to have made national news.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb ... ar-AAG8gxw
Appears that the upgrade with OSU linebacking would have been given lesser playing time.
https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2019 ... ortal.html
He'll have a great chance to show his stuff in front of the home crowd. Welcome.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 1:44 pm
by uhwarriors
SA article:
A former All-State football player from Saint Louis School is transferring from Oregon State to the University of Hawaii.

“I can’t wait,” Isaiah Tufaga told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser this morning.

Tufaga, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, said he finalized his decision on Tuesday, the final day of Oregon State’s training camp.

“It had nothing to do with football,” Tufaga said of his decision. “It had to do with things off the field. I figured coming back home is the best for me and my happiness. Playing in front of my family and friends is also another bonus. I figured it’s the best thing for me to do.”
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/08/ ... of-hawaii/

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 1:51 pm
by kapakahi
The transfer portal definitely worked to UH's advantage this time around.....since highly doubtful that Oregon State would've granted Tufaga a release to join UH just 2 weeks before the Sept. 7 game (much less at all....after the "inadvertent" recruitment of current UH players by OSU last year).....especially with Isaiah having just completed participating in Oregon State's Fall Camp practices & meetings. https://twitter.com/RobDeMelloKHON/status/1164294316417675269 https://osubeavers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6782


Link https://twitter.com/IsaiahTufaga/status/704059999664758784

Link

Hopefully Isaiah's transfer back home to UH helps with UH"s recruitment of his younger brother Mason.....who is a top 2021 local LB prospect at Saint Louis.....already with offers from UH, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, South Carolina, USC, and Utah. In any case, would think that this definitely can't help Oregon State's recruitment of Mason. https://twitter.com/bangulo/status/1158832928358461440 https://twitter.com/HawaiiPrepWorld/status/1157168782973911045 https://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/footbal ... -espn-300/
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/foot ... order/true


Link


Link

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:24 am
by J-Rod
Have to be a certain type to be long for Corvallis.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:15 am
by My3Cats
Great news for the Warriors. Hopefully everything works out for all parties involved. Isaiah will have a redshirt year to learn Coach Batoon's defense.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:01 am
by cabanalane
Kili wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:52 am wow, great news! Local kid and a really nice piece at a very important position. Great to see that these kids are keeping the option open to come home even when they have left for the mainland.
Of course, Hawaii welcomes local boys home. Hawaii will always be home.

With that said, why did he leave? Did Rolo not try to recruit him the first time? Yes, he'll have to compete for his position, but what about the guys who have "paid their dues?" I don't mean to sound like they deserve it. More like guys that commit to UH from the start, heart and soul. Work their way up. Now maybe get a chance to play. So instead of splitting time between 3-5 guys, now there's another player added. As much as we think "team", there's still a lot of I's deep down inside.

IMO, the success of Mariota, Tagovailoa, and others have made every local kid dream big(ger). And that's a good thing. The point I want to make is the feeling that Hawaii will just "accept" them back. Is the world this nice? Or just Hawaii is this nice?

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:25 am
by poidog
cabanalane wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:01 am
Kili wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:52 am wow, great news! Local kid and a really nice piece at a very important position. Great to see that these kids are keeping the option open to come home even when they have left for the mainland.
Of course, Hawaii welcomes local boys home. Hawaii will always be home.

With that said, why did he leave? Did Rolo not try to recruit him the first time? Yes, he'll have to compete for his position, but what about the guys who have "paid their dues?" I don't mean to sound like they deserve it. More like guys that commit to UH from the start, heart and soul. Work their way up. Now maybe get a chance to play. So instead of splitting time between 3-5 guys, now there's another player added. As much as we think "team", there's still a lot of I's deep down inside.

IMO, the success of Mariota, Tagovailoa, and others have made every local kid dream big(ger). And that's a good thing. The point I want to make is the feeling that Hawaii will just "accept" them back. Is the world this nice? Or just Hawaii is this nice?
It isn't about being nice as much as it is about being smart. UH has the benefit of being the only football school in a state that produces a disproportionate amount of football talent. We have first crack at the David Veikune's and the Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea's when they need to come home, and we should always make room for them. The best tool for recruiting the local talent is previous local talent wearing the green and white, so whether they signed with UH from the beginning or were bouncebacks, the fact that they are here only helps make the case for the next group of recruits.

For the guys already on the team, it isn't any different than if Rolo brought in JC recruits who might take their spot. The best guys will play.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:47 am
by RedZone
cabanalane wrote: Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:01 am
Kili wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:52 am wow, great news! Local kid and a really nice piece at a very important position. Great to see that these kids are keeping the option open to come home even when they have left for the mainland.
Of course, Hawaii welcomes local boys home. Hawaii will always be home.

With that said, why did he leave? Did Rolo not try to recruit him the first time? Yes, he'll have to compete for his position, but what about the guys who have "paid their dues?" I don't mean to sound like they deserve it. More like guys that commit to UH from the start, heart and soul. Work their way up. Now maybe get a chance to play. So instead of splitting time between 3-5 guys, now there's another player added. As much as we think "team", there's still a lot of I's deep down inside.

IMO, the success of Mariota, Tagovailoa, and others have made every local kid dream big(ger). And that's a good thing. The point I want to make is the feeling that Hawaii will just "accept" them back. Is the world this nice? Or just Hawaii is this nice?
I used to think this way before but have changed. I don’t mind that they choose to go away then come back. They will still have to compete for a position. Having more talented players competing for a position will only make it better. With that said Tufaga was one those players I hoped that we would have gotten earlier out of high school so I am happy that we have him now.

Re: LB Isaiah Tufaga leaving Oregon State and Joining the Warriors

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:24 pm
by wailukuwarriorfan
For Coach Rolo, this would be the one of his best recruiting tools for incoming Hawaii HS recruits. Let the Hawaii high school blue chip recruits, while on their official visits to UH, (that are also considering Pac 12 schools), speak with the Hawaii players that have gone to the mainland to play, then entered the transfer portal to come home to be closer to family and let their family watch them play at home along with the entire State of Hawaii.

Let them hear about what it feels like playing for a team on the mainland, without any family watching. No parents, brothers or sisters, Uncles and Aunties, cousins, or high school friends watching them. What does that feel like?

What it's like playing and having to live in freezing snow during winter season, not just for a week, but for months at a time.

No beaches with warm water to surf in and finally, there's nothing that can compare with UH's co-ed's walking around upper campus in tee shirts and shorts all year long.