Relegated to scout duties in 2018, Jeremiah Pritchard alternated between feeling he was a part of Hawaii’s first winning season since 2010, and apart from it.
“Being away from the team (during) their away games, those were the worst (days),” Pritchard said. “Sometimes they’d travel on Wednesday, so now I have off the rest of that week by myself, over here just working out. It’s hard to support from a distance, but that’s the way I kind of just did it. Win, lose, I still watched the team, supported them while they were away.”
The native of American Samoa was an instant-impact player upon his arrival in Manoa in 2016 and took it a step farther in 2017. To date he has 10.5 tackles for loss, including three sacks.
But in 2018, when Jahlani Tavai led the linebackers, Pritchard was forced to take a redshirt.
He actually made a few road games and watched from the stands. When his teammates stormed the bleachers in victory after the five-overtime thriller at San Jose State on Sept. 29, he was there, and for a moment felt whole.
Pritchard’s had time and reason to reflect on his upbringing in football, spanning disparate cultures in his native American Samoa, Hawaii and Las Vegas.
He treasures them all, but as they say, nothing beats the original.
“The only thing I’ll say I miss back home, the game of football is just different for me,” Pritchard said. “We’re a small island, so the game is a little bit bigger to us. … I miss my family (too), but the game of football is just a different experience.”
He looked to further his career as a high schooler, journeying to Oahu, where he has some extended family, as a sophomore. His junior year, his Farrington Governors reached the state semifinals. He then relocated to Silverado High in Las Vegas as a senior, learning another set of assignments and terminology in passing and pro-style systems.
“It was a crazy change for me, only because coming from American Samoa, we’re taught the basics,” he said. “I’m not looking down on them, but we’re behind in some things back home. I’m not mad at it, I love it. The grind is different. I come out here, and (it’s) different terminology. Different schemes. And it really opened my eyes.”
This fall, Pritchard traded his redshirt for something custom-made. Many days, the undershirt beneath his football pads bore a graphic of his UH teammate Scheyenne Sanitoa, a fellow linebacker from American Samoa. Sanitoa, who would’ve been a fourth-year junior this season, died on July 4, shocking the team.
The UH linebackers intend to honor Sanitoa throughout the season. No one will wear his No. 41 in 2019.
“The littlest thing we did so far was, the seat that he sits in in our meeting room, nobody still sits there,” Pritchard said. “We keep it vacant, just in honor of Schey.”
He’s a big part in our group. I look at all my brothers like that. Anybody on our team, they’ll be the same way. But just in our group alone, we respect Schey and we all miss him.”
No. MIKE LB Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
2 Jeremiah Pritchard 6-0 225 R-Jr. Leone, American Samoa
1 Penei Pavihi 6-3 245 Jr. Pago Pago, American Samoa
12 Kana‘i Picanco 6-1 225 R-Sr. Kaneohe
No. WILL LB Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
27 Solomon Matautia 6-1 230 R-Sr. Ewa Beach
15 Paul Scott 6-1 210 R-So. Oakland, Calif.
Quote: “To me, he’s a prototypical linebacker. He’s strong, he’s physical. I won’t say he’s fast-fast, but I mean, from a reaction standpoint, he’s a fast reactor and he can get to a spot.” — Inside linebackers coach Mark Banker
SCOUTING REPORT
Jahlani Tavai is on to the NFL, but there is a host of experienced linebackers keeping UH’s shelves stocked.
Some combination of the three P’s at the MIKE spot — Pritchard, Pavihi, Picanco — and Matautia and Scott at the WILL will be on the field the majority of the time. Heavier packages feature three of those five. Scott has risen in the ranks and “put himself squarely in the mix” to complement the veteran Matautia, said defensive coordinator Corey Batoon.
The linebackers cross-trained; those listed at MIKE could make WILL appearances and vice-versa.
