Quotes about Reagan Mauia's journey to the NFL

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2007/07/28/sports/1_mauia_070728.txt

About how his classmates react when he says that his "Uncle Reagan" is on the Dolphins, 13-year-old Marquell said:
"They don't believe me." (LN)


About how he tries to live his life, Reagan said:
"I live by the two H's. Stay humble and stay hungry." (LN)


About growing up poor in Samoa, Reagan said:
"I didn't know I was poor until I went to school and saw what other kids were wearing. We were at the bottom." (LN)


Not bothered by his family's financial status when he was growing up, Reagan said:
"My childhood was a happy one." (LN)


About how his older brother carried him to the top of a waterfall when he was 6, telling him the only way he'd get home was to jump into the water below and swim his way back, Reagan said:
"I remember standing up there. He left me by myself. I just started wailing in the water and splashed my way back. I told him never to do that again." (LN)


Not upset with the rough treatment he got from his brothers, Reagan said:
"I probably would have been a wimp. Probably not." (LN)


About how their family's lives didn't get easier when they moved into a poor neighborhood in East Oakland where he Dad took a warehouse job, Reagan said:
"You come from one jungle to a whole different jungle." (LN)


About how being a Samoan family in an African-American neighborhood resulted in a lot of misunderstanding and fights, Reagan said:
"We had to survive." (LN)


About how he was a scrawny little kid weighing under 100 pounds in 6th grade until he found weights in back of an Oakland housing project, Reagan said:
"I just started lifting on my own and never stopped." (LN)

Note: Reagan was 263 pounds by the time his family moved to Stockton before he started high school.


When he was sent to the freshmen team when he tried to go out for football as a freshman, Reagan was told:
"The freshmen coach said, 'No son, the varsity field is back that way.'" (LN)


About Reagan as a freshman, Coach Tracy said:
"He was a creature, man. He had a lot to learn, but he learned real fast." (LN)

Note: The coach would have put Reagan on the Varsity if it wasn't for his rule that players had to be 15 before they were on the varsity.


Reagan had never played football before, but was put at RG and NG on the freshmen team, learning from teammates what to do:
"I'd line up and ask my tackle, 'Who do I hit?' "He'd tell me which number, and when the ball moved I'd knock them down." (LN)


About how Reagan wanted to learn all he could and not just rely on his ability, Tracy said:
"He was a student of the game. He didn't just want his natural ability to lead him. He wanted to learn all the fine details of the game." (LN)

His work ethic translated to the weight room as well, learning lifting techniques from John Hunt, the first person he ever met on the Tokay campus.
About Reagan's work ethic at Tokay High, John Hunt (a counselor and track and field coach who taught Reagan lifting techniques) said:
"He was bench-pressing 220 pounds as a freshman and 330 pounds by his sophomore year." (LN)

LN Note: "When the track and field season came around, Hunt convinced Mauia to go out for the shot put and discus. Mauia didn't like the sport at first, but he was a natural, eventually setting the school record in the discus with a mark of 172 feet, 6 inches."


About how his brother Tuitafega transferred from Bear Creek to Tokay and they got to play together during Reagan's junior year, Reagan (San Joaquin Athletic Association's Defensive Player of the Year that year) said:
"That made me feel at home." (LN)


About how Reagan was ruled athletically ineligible halfway through his Senior season when he and some teammates were found to have been drinking at a party, Hunt said:
"He made some choices and got himself into some situations, but it was hard to be disappointed with him because he felt he let the team down. He was never elitist or cocky. He was truly humble and sorry for any bad decisions he made." (LN)

Note: Hunt's parents took in Reagan his senior year because Reagan's parents had to relocate to South Stockton.


Mauia signed a scholarship to play for Sacramento State, but he quickly backed out.
About how Reagan backed out of a scholarship agreement to play for Sacramento State, Reagan (lightly recruited because he was 6' tall with a short wingspan, despite running a 4.8 40-yard dash while being 300 pounds) said:
"I would have been a Hornet, but I didn't think it was the thing for me to do. I knew I could do better, but I wasn't going to stop playing ball." (LN)


About how he redshirted as a sophomore at Delta College after the birth of his son, Reagan said:
"I worked two jobs and went to school. Just trying to help out." (LN)

LN: "During that time, Mauia continued to receive several scholarship offers from smaller schools. Knowing that Jesus Reyes, Delta's wide receivers coach, knew someone at the University of Hawaii, Mauia asked him for a favor."

About asking Reyes to contact UH for him, Reagan said:
"I got up the courage to ask Reyes to make a phone call for me. Just to get my name in the door." (LN)

LN Note: "When Reyes did, Mauia was asked to send the school some game film. He gathered all the tape he could find from Tokay and Delta, sending an overnight package to Hawaii. The very next day, Hawaii head coach June Jones was on the phone."


About the phone call with JJ, Reagan said:
"I couldn't believe it was him. He told me, 'If you're willing to walk on, we're willing to have you.'" (LN)

LN Note: "Mauia walked onto the team as a nose guard with Jones' word that if he worked hard enough, he would eventually earn a scholarship. In the first 10 games of his junior season, he made one start and one tackle. But during the following week of practice, everything changed for Mauia. In preparation for Wisconsin, Hawaii's scout offense needed a running back. Jokingly, Mauia offered his services."


About his first play at RB, Reagan said:
"I laid out our starting linebacker." (LN)

Note: Reagan played RB for UH that weekend.

LN Note: "At 350 pounds, Mauia made a quick impression, rushing for 56 yards on 10 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown trot up the middle in Hawaii's regular-season finale against San Diego State.

If Mauia was going to reach the NFL, he knew this was his only chance to do so. But in order to make that a realistic goal, he had to lose significant weight. Drastically changing his diet — which began with cutting out trips to Jack in the Box — he was down to 315 pounds by the time spring ball came around. By fall, he was down to 290."


About how JJ told him that he needed to lose weight to have a shot at the NFL, Reagan said:
"Coach Jones told me I had a chance (to make the NFL). I just had to think speed and agility." (LN)


About how he learned to play FB at the Hula Bowl, Reagan said:
"I wasn't worried about (the scouts). I was worried about learning to play fullback." (LN)


About how scouts noticed him at the Hula Bowl, Reagan said:
"Scouts would come up to me and ask, 'Where'd you play? We don't have you listed as a fullback.'" (LN)

LN Note: "The Miami Dolphins were the only team Mauia visited, and as it turned out, he was one of four Samoans selected by the Dolphins on draft day, a group no referred to by the local media as the "Polynesian Wrecking Crew." "


Reagan's 5'6" father, Pili Mauia, wears a Miami Dolphins hat all the time now, Reagan said:
"He always wears that hat. He doesn't have to, but he always does." (LN)


About how he's looking forward to buying a home for his parents soon, Reagan said:
"The 209 is still going to be my area code when I find a home. I'm definitely sticking around." (LN)


Hoping to play in the NFL for a long time, Reagan said:
"I got the best advice from (Dolphins veteran) Zach Thomas. He just told me to stay healthy." (LN)