The Hawaii football team moved quickly to rebuild at tight end.
A day after it was announced Metuisela ’Unga would miss the remainder of the season because of an ankle injury, reserve quarterback Karson Greeley was moved permanently to tight end on Tuesday. Greeley, who had practiced there the past few weeks, joins the same position group as twin brother Kade. They are true freshmen.
“He likes to pull the ‘I’m older’ card all the time,” Kade said. “Hey, he was born only 10 minutes earlier.”
The Greeley twins — whose older sister, Kalei, is an outside hitter for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team — are part of the rotation at tight end. Dakota Torres, who aligns as a tight end or fullback, was injured and did not play in last weekend’s game against Colorado State. But head coach Nick Rolovich said Torres should be available for Saturday’s road game against Nevada.
Kaiwi Chung, who aligns as a blocking back, is labeled as a tight end. Freshman offensive lineman Brandon Kipper played a few downs as a tight end against CSU. Offensive tackle Matt Norman is available as a tight end in short-yardage situations.
“The tight ends are a pivotal part of our offense,” graduate assistant coach Mikahael “Blood” Waters said. Rolovich coached the tight ends this past spring. Since then, the position’s coaching is divided: Waters handles the passing game, graduate assistant John Estes coaches the blocking phase.
Kade Greeley was used mostly as a receiver at Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High last season. But at 6 feet 6, he said, “I always figured my body type fit more as a tight end. And I’m not as quick as those guys on the outside.”
Greeley impressed early in training camp. “When he got here, he was making plays,” Waters said. “He’s a natural ball catcher.”
Any thought of Greeley redshirting this year disappeared when it was apparent he would be a contributor on special teams. “And he continued to develop as a tight end,” Rolovich said.
Just before the CSU game, Greeley was told he would have an expanded role because ’Unga would not be available to play. “I got really nervous,” Greeley recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I don’t know if I’m prepared.’ But Coach Estes and Coach Blood have worked with me the past couple months, and they put me in a good position to play”
Greeley caught a 30-yard scoring pass.
Greeley, who weighs 220 pounds, said he plans to gain at least 20 pounds in the offseason and continue to work with Estes on his blocking.
“Run blocking is new to him,” Estes said. “It’ll get better. He’s getting better every day.”
There are no concerns about Chung’s blocking. He was a 5-foot-11, 275-pound offensive lineman at Kamehameha Schools. But after Rolovich was hired in late 2015, it was decided Chung would be a good fit in the newly created tight end/fullback position. The move meant losing weight. He now weighs 230 pounds, but the ferocity remains.
“I like blocking,” Chung said. “That’s my main job. Once in a while, I’ll have to catch a ball. But from Pop Warner, I wasn’t the tallest guy. I had to find ways to get inside (a defender’s reach) and block harder.”
Rolovich said: “Kaiwi’s got a 37-yard reception. I think he’s every lineman’s hero now.”