Hawaii linebacker Noah Kema’s style is not flash or dash.
But consistency in making plays in different roles is expected to earn Kema a starting spot in Saturday’s football game against Albany at the Ching Complex.
“I’m not the flashiest or the fastest,” said Kema, who is 6 feet 1 and 220 pounds. “Not the loudest. Not going to curse or say a lot of things or be in your face. But I definitely try to compete, work on my weaknesses, and stay consistent and control what I can control.”
With middle linebacker Isaiah Tufaga suspended for Saturday’s first half as a result of last week’s second-half targeting violation, Kema is projected to make his third start of his 16-game UH career. He will play Tufaga’s mike position in the two-linebacker set or strong-side linebacker if the Warriors realign in a 4-3 front.
Last week against Stanford, Kema came off the sideline to make five tackles and a pass breakup.
“He’s smart, he’s tough, he fills the room with the leadership role really well,” head coach Timmy Chang said.
Kema said: “I know the importance of staying consistent. It’s the tortoise-and-the-hare type of thing. Be steady, consistent, and just really use my mind to play the game. I love what Coach Timmy talks about: ‘Do things over and over, make good choices, and everything will take care of itself.’”
Kema took the circuitous route to Manoa. He lived in several places as his father progressed in his coaching and administrative career. Kema was born in Utah, then lived three years in Colorado, nine in Texas, and two years in Kansas, where he was a standout defensive lineman for Independence High. He played in the 2017 Polynesian Bowl.
After graduation, he began a two-year church mission in Irvine, Calif. By the dawn’s early light, he would run between 30 and 45 minutes, then prepare for a full day of volunteer work and sharing his faith.
After completing his mission, he lived with an uncle, Dave Kuresa, who was a coach in Mountain Crest, Utah. “He gave me a key to the weight room,” said Kema, who began training in the hope of continuing his football career.
From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kuresa worked at a warehouse. “Then I worked out until I couldn’t move anymore, just getting that chubby, chunky body down a little bit,” he said.
After considering a preferred walk-on offer from Utah State, where his father had been a decorated offensive lineman, Kema enrolled at Snow College (Ephraim, Utah) in January 2020. He ascended the depth chart during spring training, earning a scholarship, when the pandemic hit. There was no junior college season in the fall of 2020, but Kema played in the 2021 spring season and the ensuing 2021 fall season.
“It was crazy,” Kema said. “I didn’t play football for 41⁄2 years, and then I played two seasons back-to-back in the same year.”
When UH offered a scholarship in October 2021, Kema did not hesitate in accepting. Kema said his father is nearly three-quarters Hawaiian ancestry. Kema spent summers in Aiea with his paternal grandparents and other relatives. Kema also attended Ho‘omaka‘ika‘i, a Kamehameha Schools-sponsored program that teaches Hawaiian history and culture. And then there was surfing.
“After my mission, I visited the islands, and I knew this is where I wanted to be,” Kema said. “Not only football-wise, but spiritually. I wanted to connect with my roots. I’ll never be 100% a local boy in the sense of knowing all the spots or speaking pidgin, and I don’t act like I am. But I know my Hawaiian ancestry is very important. That was put into me as a little kid, put into me from my Nana who used to come and visit us on the mainland and teach us.”
