Quotes about the Hawaii Football Camp

About 6'1", 245-pound Reeve Koehler, JJ said:
"He's 12? That's incredible." (HA)


About the interest in UH from his highly-touted brother and him, Reeve said:
"My older brother (Solomon) wants to play for UH. I want to play for UH. I wanted to come out here and impress the (UH) coaches." (HA)


Reeve, who is too big to play in youth football leagues, said about the camp where the UH coaches served as instructors:
"I learned a lot." (HA)


About UH, Solomon Koehler (considered the top prospect in Hawaii) said:
"I'm very excited about the idea of staying home. Hawaii's at least in the top three." (HSB)


About how the camp develops UH fans in addition to identifying players, Rich Miano said:
"This is good for our marketing, too. Not all of these players can play on our team, but we're selling season tickets, we're giving out schedule cards. We want them and their families to know we need their support and we appreciate it. We'll definitely have this again next year." (HSB)


Praising Rich Miano and Mel DeLaura for organizing the Hawaii football camp, JJ said:
"Rich and Mel did a great job of putting this together." (HA)

HA Note: "The camp, the first since 1999 to involve the full UH coaching staff, came at the urging of defensive backs coach Rich Miano and conditioning coach Mel deLaura. Both are organizers of the successful Hawai'i Speed and Quickness clinics."

HA Note: "The intent was twofold: Provide affordable instruction and widespread exposure. The top fee was $60 for the four-day camp. In comparison, Southern California charged $180 for two days."


Christian Vasconcellos, who accepted a scholarship offer from UH during the camp, said about the Hawaii Football Camp:
"I couldn't go to Mainland camps because of the cost. This is pretty affordable." (HA)


Chris Fetters, recruiting director for scout.com, was impressed with the talent at the camp and said:
"It's a solid crop, no question about it," Fetters said. "I think they're starting to scratch their potential. When you talk about kids on the islands, you're talking about unlimited potential. You see physical strength and innate ability." (HA)

HA Note: "Fetters rated wideout/defensive back Jermaine Kearse of Lakes High school in Washington as the camp's best prospect.

Kearse is 6 feet 2 and 170 pounds, and can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds.

He already has received offers from Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, California, Arizona State and Colorado."


After the 4-day Hawaii camp, Kearse said:
"I'm putting down Hawai'i as one of the schools I'm considering. It's a nice place. I got along with the people." (HA)

HSB Note: "Receiver Jermaine Kearse (6-2, 170, 4.5) has offers from most of the Pac-10 schools. The second cousin of Philadelphia Eagles' defensive end Jevon Kearse was among several Lakes High School players in attendance - including his quarterback, Calvin Schmidtke (6-0, 186). Kearse said it was a possibility when asked if he and Schmidtke might be a package deal."


Praising Kearse, Fetters said:
"He can play offense and defense. He's a great return guy. He showed a real great burst here." (HA)

HA Note: Fetters said he gave high marks to defensive linemen Aaron Tipoti of Pac-Five, Haku Correa of Damien, Geordon Hanohano of Saint Louis and Solomon Koehler; offensive linemen Mykenna Ikehara of Kamehameha and Sean Tesoro of Baldwin; and running backs Kama Bailey of Damien and Dalton Hilliard of Punahou."


Praising a few other standouts at the camp, Fetters said:
"Sean Tesoro was a big boost. And when Mykenna showed up, it really upped the level. There were some guys who obviously stood out." (HA)


About the Hawaii Football Camp, Mykenna Ikehara (who has received offers from UH, UNLV, and SDSU) said:
"Part of going to this camp is to get exposure. And I'm learning a lot." (HA)


Aaron Tipoti, who missed most of his sophomore and junior seasons due to injury, received an offer from UH at the camp and said:
"I didn't have too good of a season in past years. I was injured. This camp is good. I'm learning new techniques, and I'm getting to meet a lot of coaches. This gives me a chance to show them I'm D-I material, and I have a lot to give." (HA)


About how he learned from the camp, Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said:
"We have one Division I school in this state, and nothing else above high school. We don't have junior college teams here. This is a good chance to learn." (HA)


About the UH Camp, which he ended with an 1-on-1 with Tipoti, Ikahara said:
"I liked it. I learned a lot." (HSB)

HSB: "During the final rotation of the four-day clinic, the offensive and defensive linemen squared off for physical 1-on-1 battles. The finale featured Pac-Five defensive end Aaron Tipoti and Kamehameha tackle Mykenna Ikehara - both of whom have already received scholarship offers from the Warriors.

They worked each other hard, with a collision worthy of Aloha Stadium in October. But Ikehara kept Tipoti under wraps as UH defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold and Damien coach Brian Derby, one of the state's most noted offensive line tutors, verbally motivated them."


About ending the Camp with his 1-on-1 vs. Ikehara, Tipoti said:
"It's awesome. He's a great tackle and I'm looking forward to playing against him (in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu) this year." (HSB)


About UH (who has offered him a scholarship), Tesoro (who is also hoping Oregon State offes him) said:
"I haven't decided yet, but Hawaii's definitely in my top two," said Tesoro, who is also hoping for an offer from the Beavers. "I've always wanted to play for UH, but I think I should take my time to decide." (HSB)