On the first day of the spring semester, the transfer portal delivered a rush order to the University of Hawaii football team.

On Monday, Ka‘eo Akana, a rush end with the University of Utah the past three seasons, signed a scholarship agreement to play for the Rainbow Warriors.

“I’m juiced,” said Akana, who will participate in the Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring training. The first of the Warriors’ 15 spring practices is Feb. 3.

Associate head coach Chris Brown said Akana is a “big-time football player. … He’s rangy, but very aggressive. He’s not afraid of contact. He’s violent with his striking. He will take on a pulling guard and he will strike a tackle on any given play.”

At the end of Utah’s regular season in December, Akana entered the transfer portal. He said he wanted to seek a different experience after playing in eight games in 2023 and three this past season, mostly on special teams.

Akana, who is 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds, initially committed to UCLA in December. But last week, he de-committed and re-entered the portal. He said he chose UH because it was “the best option” and he wanted to play in front of family and friends.

“He brings some maturity because of where he’s been,” Brown said. “He’s hungry to play. He just wants to play. That’s the bottom line. I know Hawaii is a special place for him to play because of home and his family. He takes a lot of pride in that. I know he’s excited by all that.”

Akana was a multi-sport athlete as a freshman at Saint Francis School. But the school shut down in June 2019. Akana then transferred to Roosevelt High, where he excelled as a pass rusher. His junior year in 2020 was wiped out because of the pandemic.

But in 18 games as a sophomore and senior at Roosevelt, Akana amassed 35.5 sacks. Of his 40.5 tackles as a senior, 25 were for losses, including 13 sacks. He also forced two fumbles. Scouting service 247Sports gave Akana a 3-star rating and listed him as the No. 2 prospect in Hawaii. He participated in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl.

Akana will be reunited with UH defensive end Jackie Johnson III, who was tied for the team lead with five sacks in 2024. Akana and Johnson were teammates at Saint Francis, Roosevelt and with the Trench Dawgs, a developmental program that played games on Oahu and Utah.

Akana is the fourth defensive player to sign with UH in the past two days. Defensive line transfers Luther McCoy (Minnesota), De’Jon Benton (USC, New Mexico) and Qwyn Williams (Ohio Dominican) also are joining the Warriors.