In a wonder year at the University of Hawaii, defensive end Jonah Laulu changed his position and body composition but not his unabashed enthusiasm.

“I’m, like, a really goofy person,” said Laulu, who will be a second-year freshman for the Rainbow Warriors this football season. “When I’m comfortable with people, it just comes out.”

He has been known to be a one-man flash mob. “I like to dance a lot,” said Laulu, who, at 6 feet 5, cuts a wide rug. “I like to separate myself so I don’t accidentally kick someone.”

After making a sack in a recent scrimmage-like session, Laulu appeared to go into a Karate Kid-styled crane stance.

“That’s my new technique,” he mused. With his agility, he also is prepared for sweep-the-leg counter tactics. “I’ll move out of the way,” he said. “I’ve watched a lot of kung fu moves, a lot of Bruce Lee movies.”

“He’s super funny,” nickelback Kai Kaneshiro said of last season’s roommate. “(He’s) probably one of the funniest guys on the team. Sometimes he’ll walk in, after he’s taken a shower, and he’s just screaming. He’s weird, but he’s hella funny. He’s always making jokes. He’s never in a bad mood.”

It appears Laulu carries the chill gene. “Not a lot of people get to do what we do every day, working out on the field surrounded by the people we love,” said Laulu, who was born and reared in Las Vegas. “We’re in a paradise. It’s not 110 degrees. We’ve got a cool breeze. It’s nice out here.”

Laulu has made easy adjustments since committing to UH last year. At Centennial High, Laulu initially was a wideout before moving to tight end. For the Warriors’ 2018 fall camp, Laulu was assigned jersey No. 80, usually reserved for receivers. He then practiced as a rush end — a hybrid position in which he could align as a pass rusher, edge-setter or drop-back defender. Soon after, he was re-assigned to the strong-side end position known as the “bandit.”

“They said with my frame, I could put on a lot of weight,” Laulu said. “That’s why I think they moved me.”

Last year’s senior bandits — Zeno Choi and Tevarua Eldridge — became Laulu’s mentors.

“I looked up to them; I still look up to them,” Laulu said. “They welcomed me like a family. I can’t thank them enough for helping me with plays and telling me when I messed up. They encouraged me when I was down because I was still learning the defense. They were true leaders.”

In tribute, Laulu now wears 99 — Choi’s old number. He also has filled out that jersey, gaining more than 40 pounds — he now weighs 280 — while maintaining his speed and stamina. “I do feel a difference,” Laulu said. “Now I’m not getting pushed around too easily.”

Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said Laulu’s larger build “has been a big deal for us. That’s something he really committed to this summer. He really changed his body. He’s done a nice job.”

Laulu has been the No. 1 bandit in the first six practices of training camp. Unlike most ends who play opposite tight ends and tackles, Laulu is not just a hand-on-the-turf end. There often are times he will be a stand-up end, giving the Warriors’ bookend rushers.

“I consider myself a speed rusher,” Laulu said.

Batoon said: “He’s a guy who doesn’t see himself as a big body. He runs like a little guy. He’s really the transition of playing in the trenches with his hands. He’s gotten a lot more physical, and he brings the athleticism that you don’t usually have in those inside positions. We have to keep bringing him along. But we like what he’s doing.”