Even before the electrifying football career at the University of Hawaii and in Canada, before Thursday’s induction into the UH Circle of Honor, Chad Owens was part of another circle.
There were the other two Chads — Kapanui and Kalilimoku — and the Keomaka siblings, and Blake Harono. They attended Roosevelt High, played sports year-round and dared to have dreams that went beyond Pauoa Valley.
“I surrounded myself with my guys — Chad Kapanui, Chad Kalilimoku,” Owens said. “My (future) wife was a solid foundation for me. My community. My friends. … We were highly competitive. I was never the most talented. I was never No. 1 on the team. But those guys made me better. They made me chase and try to keep up.”
They all had aspired to play for the UH football team.
“God had a plan,” Owens said. “We just had to put the work in.”
The Rainbow Warriors signed Kapanui as a quarterback. Kalilimoku went to Santa Ana College, where he became a decorated linebacker, and then to UH. Kapanui’s 3-star success helped Owens, a receiver/returner, draw interest from then-UH head coach June Jones and receivers coach Ron Lee. Roosevelt coach Reggie Dela Cruz suggested that Owens join the Warriors as a walk-on.
“I said, ‘What is that?’ Owens recalled. “This is how ignorant I was of the whole situation.”
Ahead of UH’s 2000 season, Owens participated in player-run practices that summer.
“My very first summer workout, from Cooke Field (now Ching Complex), I ran a seam,” Owens said of being the target of quarterback Nick Rolovich’s sizzling pass. “And it just took my finger. I’m surprised it’s still attached. I dislocated my finger. That was my welcome to college football at this level. That was part of my story. Another step. Another setback. It shows that no matter what happens to you, how big or how small, you overcome that hurdle and you keep going. You come back better.”
Owens redshirted in 2000 but had a breakout second year with the Warriors. In the regular-season finale, Owens returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in a 72-45 rout of Brigham Young on national television. Owens set the NCAA record for single-game kickoff and punt return yardage with 372, and kickoff return yardage with 249. The outcome led to the creation of the Hawaii Bowl and cemented the legend of the 5-foot-8 player known as “Mighty Mouse.”
After compiling 5,461 all-purpose yards during his UH career, he was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ sixth-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. After a brief NFL career, he starred in the Canadian Football League. He was part of two Grey Cup championship teams. In 2012, he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.
“Coming from humble beginnings, coming from — I don’t want to stay nothing because I had support — but it really lit a fire to work harder,” Owens said. “Being undersized, there were a lot of things against me. … It’s not about the adversity you face. It’s how you go about handling the adversity. You’ve got two choices: We can find another way or we can look adversity in the face and strike back, run it over, and keep going that way. … I wouldn’t change anything.”
Last summer, Owens was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame.
On Thursday, Owens was invited to Ching field under the pretense of shooting a video on kickoff and punt returns for the Warriors. Associate head coach Chris Brown had Owens field kicks. Brown then asked Owens to turn around. The video scoreboard had a message congratulating Owens on being chosen for the Circle of Honor. Smoke then got into Owens’ eyes.
“I’m a very passionate person,” Owens said later.
“This proves that hard work will beat talent any day of the week as long as you keep showing up,” Owens said. “You convince yourself you’re never good enough, you didn’t do enough, you’ve got to do more, somebody is better. Keep chasing. I want more, give me more.”
He added: “Being a walk-on laid the foundation for my entire career. And even now. I’m truly, truly honored.”
