It only took Washington’s Hau’oli Jamora seven games to earn a starting defensive end spot as a true freshman. Or, in his words, seven games too long. "I honestly wanted to do it a lot faster," said Jamora, the 2009 Star-Bulletin All-State player of the year from Kahuku. "Just competitive-wise, that’s how I am."

Jamora is one of four kids from Hawaii to make up a 2010 recruiting class that is the foundation of a new era of Washington Huskies football.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian inherited a once-proud program coming off an 0-12 season in 2008 under Tyrone Willingham.

After scrambling to fill an ’09 class in just more than two months, Sarkisian’s first full year of recruiting resulted in a group that has six starters as either redshirt freshmen or sophomores and another 18 listed on the two-deeps for Saturday’s game against Hawaii.

Jamora has made as much of an early impact as any of them, leading all UW linemen with 49 tackles, including eight for loss, plus three sacks in 2010. He started last week against Eastern Washington and had seven tackles and the team’s only sack.

"He’s one of my favorite players on our football team," Sarkisian said. "Unbelievable work ethic and just a tremendous kid on and off the field.

"It’s tough when you’re a true freshman and you’re playing in this conference against some premier offensive linemen."

If anything, Jamora said his lack of size held him back in his first year. He dedicated the offseason to gaining 15 pounds and, at 6 feet 3, said he’s hovering around the 255-pound mark.

"My body wasn’t ready for that in the beginning and my technique wasn’t all there," he said. "Playing in the Holiday Bowl really helped."

The Huskies had gone eight years without playing in a bowl game and were 3-6 to start last year, losing three consecutive games by a combined score of 138-30.

After a timely bye week, UW ran off wins over UCLA, California and Washington State to make the Holiday Bowl. There, the Huskies avenged a 35-point home drubbing to Nebraska with a 19-7 win over the Cornhuskers, capping a special first season for Jamora.

"I laid down on the field for I don’t know how long after the game and just relished it," said Jamora, who had three tackles for loss and a sack in the game.

Jamora is receiving the accolades now, but the Huskies are expecting to rely on all of the players they’ve recruited from the islands. Junior defensive tackle Semisi Tokolahi (Hilo ’09), who started three games last year, could play for the first time since suffering a broken foot and dislocated ankle in the Apple Cup against Washington State.

Micah Hatchie (Waialua ’10) is pegged as a potential three-year starter at left tackle beginning next year, and saw his first playing time last week, as did 6-foot, 330-pound Lawrence Lagafuaina (Aiea ’10), who will rotate in against Hawaii at defensive tackle.

Safety Taz Stevenson (Mililani ’10) played crucial minutes in last year’s Holiday Bowl and will be a big part of a UW defense that will try to contain Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense.

The Huskies allowed 473 passing yards to Eastern Washington last week.

"I think we had a little lack of energy in that game and coming into Hawaii, I think we’re more focused and we’re going to bring a much bigger energy effort," Stevenson said. "Eastern’s passing (offense) is a little different, Hawaii does a little bit more deep passes and will try to get big plays on us."

The group hinted after Tuesday’s practice that they might try a haka before Saturday’s game, although Stevenson said they probably don’t have enough time to prepare.

The game is the first meeting between the schools since Hawaii defeated the Huskies 35-28 in the 2007 season finale that clinched the Warriors a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

Back then, Jamora thought of himself as more of a Warrior than a Husky.

"I told someone, I think my uncle, that I was going to play for UH and he said, ‘You know that’s a D-I school,’ " he said. "Now I’m playing for a Pac-12 school and that’s an accomplishment in itself."

Jamora, who originally committed to BYU before his senior year, said he was open to staying home, but by the time Hawaii coaches began to show interest, it was too late.

"They hadn’t recruited me until late in my senior year, so I wasn’t looking to play there at that point," he said. "I just didn’t have that desire too much anymore."