As recruiters expand sights, UH’s selection shrinks
The University of Hawaii is getting some competition for that race to plant its flag in Australia. Michigan is also expanding its reach to Down Under, as well as American Samoa … not to mention, the Wolverines are going to hit the Rainbow Warriors literally where they live.
The NCAA saying OK to satellite camps has ramped up the recruiting wars. Everywhere, including Hawaii. And nobody knows if and when Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will run out of gas and ambition.
Any linebackers in China?
Despite the protestations of the SEC, the NCAA last month reversed its ban on camps at venues where a college team does not usually practice or play. These instructional camps for youth players are also huge recruiting tools, and the powerful SEC didn’t like the idea of Harbaugh invading its turf. (The short-lived ban also included coaches working at camps outside of their own region.)
To say Michigan has grabbed the ball and run with it is an understatement. At last count, the Wolverines will have at least a presence at 30 camps around the country, plus seven at Michigan.
Actually, make that around the world. Michigan will host a camp near Melbourne on June 3.
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Maybe it’s a coincidence that Hawaii opens this season with a game against Cal in Sydney … and the following game is at Michigan.
The camp in Australia was made official Tuesday night. On Wednesday, several reports surfaced that Michigan also will hold them in American Samoa and Hawaii (word on the street is at Saint Louis School … “Hey, Tua,” we can hear Harbaugh’s pitch now. “You know where Tom Brady went to college? It wasn’t ’Bama.”).
UH athletic director David Matlin is a smart guy who will wisely refrain from providing too much aloha for his fellow Michigan men while they’re in town. They’ll already have a tour guide, anyway: Tony Tuioti recently joined the Wolverines staff as director of football operations.
The former UH defensive tackle, assistant coach and ops director and Warriors head coach Nick Rolovich worked together on Greg McMackin’s staff, and Tuioti was the only assistant retained by Norm Chow after McMackin’s 2011 departure. When Tuioti was let go after the 2013 campaign he resurfaced with the Cleveland Browns as a defensive quality control assistant for the next two seasons.
Part of Tuioti’s job is logistics for camps. So his fingerprints are all over the expansion of the Wolverines’ footprint across the Pacific.
More camps mean more opportunities for island prospects to be seen in person by more coaches from more schools.
But, as it also does for the SEC schools, it decreases UH’s chances of keeping a prize recruit or hidden gem home. The former always has been a challenge here, even in the days when the players had to travel by ship to go away for college.
Expect others to follow Harbaugh’s lead with their own camps throughout the Pacific. And talents like Melila Purcell (American Samoa), Scott Harding (Australia) and Chad Owens (Hawaii), just to name some recent examples, will become even more unlikely to fall through the cracks and into UH uniforms.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.
23 responses to “As recruiters expand sights, UH’s selection shrinks”
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New plan for UH; start offering to young players in grade school, that will give UH an advantage. Nah,nah, just a humorous remark to help loosen up the discussion.
Basically, boils down to the haves and have-nots. I think the NCAA has got to get involved with the BIG5 ability to recruit and travel all over the place because they have unlimited funds, it does not sound fair or right. Bottom line is that these institutions will say if they don’t do it then another school from the BIG5 will do it first.
It’s not fair but they do bring in the big bucks for the NC2A. Anyway a school can only have so many players on their team so if you’re not a top flight player you’re spending a lot of time on the bench. If you’re a decent player with potential you’ll have more of a chance to show your wares with a school like UH. Look at the past NFL draft and look at the players that were drafted from small schools.
ditto.
whats not fair about it? UH can recruit anywhere they want, no one says stay in your own state. Michigan and everyone else can go where ever they want. Hey, the Pac12 has been recruting Samoa and Hawaii forever. No different.
Best way would be to lower the number of scholarships from I believe 85 to say 60. Then schools could not, legally, stock 5 QBs, 10 running backs, 15 wide receivers, most who will never play. Course the Sabans and Harbaughs will find ways to bring them in, probably get their schools to give them academic schlarships … LOL.
If local kids go else where , good for them. Hawaii should expand recruiting deep in the states too. Besides all the best players rather go big time anyway so why should this be a concern.
Hawaii needs to win and we will still get great local talent maybe not number one or two but top talent like Ken T (hope he makes it back).
Besides Michigan and Alabama, I see Vanderbilt recruiting Hawaii and some of the same players UH is recruiting. Hawaii used to be PAC10/12 country, but now its shades of SEC and Big 10. Good for local talent. UH just has to select and establish recruiting bases where it finds success. Australia is one. It has to do a better job in American Samoa. June Jones did a good job there, but Chow dropped the ball. Rolo seems to have done a good job picking it up.
Like warfan808 said, “winning” is the best recruitment tool.
winning won’t help that much. if schools like Alabama and Michigan are going to offer Hawaii kids, UH has no chance. bling is more important to these kids than anything else. big time coach, big time school, big time conference, big time budget is bling to college athletes. Rolo will have a difficult time keeping any of the best Hawaii players home.
On that note; best wishes for coach Rolo and his coaches and players. Hope they can show what their made off so potential recruits will take notice.
This highlights that what is “good” or “bad” for UH does not necessarily correlate to what is “good” or “bad” for Hawaii residents and youth. That schism needs to be closed. Perhaps it comes down to a matter of perspective. Speaking about U. Michigan as some sort of poacher of Hawaii and Pacific Rim talent for the purposes of sports ignores the fact that Michigan is considered by many to be the finest public University in the country, and up there in the rankings of all Universities, public and private. In terms of EDUCATION, not only in terms of athletics reputation. So it’s not “good” for UH if Hawaii and pacfic rim kids have a pathway to the likes of a U Michigan? Why is that bad for them? Isn’t it a GREAT thing that Hawaii youth can now be pursued by the elites of the college world without artificial barriers regarding who can stand on a field or court during athletics camps? Why aren’t we celebrating that wildly? To what extent is a choice between a scholarship to U Michigan (and, unfortunately, many, many other schools) and a scholarship to UH a no brainer? In my mind, the concerns raised, which are a legitimate point of discussion, ALSO highlight the fact that UH needs to improve drastically in more than the area of athletics. That should be the first point of discussion and the subject of some really angry discussion at that.
The State of Hawaii does not support its college football program and that is why kids choose better funded locations.
If Hawaii was the center of football the kids would stay. If mainland schools recruit Hawaii then we need to recruit the mainland.
Mainland schools are not winning with all Hawaii players they are winning with some Hawaii players and the rest are mainlanders.
We need coaching, innovative coaching.
yes recruit the mainland hard. The so called football states. You need some good mainland players to compete. Get resourceful.
Money talks, BS walks… Plain and simple. Hawaii lacks commitment from both fans and state government… when we were winning (along time ago..) State didn’t care did not provide (soaps) facility that are up to par… Fans… go sour when start loosing… I mean WTH!! Take a look at Big schools? Big Money due to Great Fan (Alum) and School and State surpport… Remember people We all are fairweather fans and BS artists… Again Nothing will ever change in this Banana Republic…
“nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care”
Reality is the top Hawaii football players who want to go to the mainland will have more choices so the big schools will be fighting among themselves. Don’t think it will affect UH that much. If they want to go away there’s nothing you can do. Like Rolo said he wants the kids who want to play for Hawaii.
very good points.
McKenzie.
Nothing will change. The sky will not fall.
UH will continue to be UH. We have never been a real player for Hawaii’s blue chippers. Occasionally we will land one. But this is not the norm. We will continue getting the best of the second tier, a few continental recruits, and a blue chipper who eventually transfers back home for whatever reason. And that is UH. In the modern era, this has always been UH.
They’ll go and transfer back to UH..and then get arrested. lol nah jk
ouch!
or just stay home, have a few babies that are on welfare and get arrested.