Quotes from Tyson Kafentzis

About moving from LB to S, Tyson Kafentzis said:
"I've always wanted to be back deep, see everything and come up and kill guys. I just imagine what it would be like to hit a guy from 10 yards away instead of five yards away. Big difference." (HSB)


About how he is different off the field, Tyson said:
"Football is just one aspect of my life." (HSB)


About Tyson's similarity to his Dad and Uncles, RM said:
"They're all similar in terms of aggressive style of play. They all have good speed and strength. ... His mannerisms, the way he jokes around, his facial expressions." (HSB)


About how Tyson's father Mark served as a mentor to him when he was at UH, RM said:
"He took me under his wing. He taught me everything from weight training to footwork drills to the playbook." (HSB)


About RM, Tyson said:
"I've known him probably since birth. He kind of reminds me of my dad and uncles in his mentality." (HSB)


Not expecting to get any special treatment from RM due to their back history, Tyson said:
"He's going to be hardest on me, expect more from me. I don't think I'll be getting any special treatment." (HSB)


Not feeling extra pressure because of his families' success at UH, Tyson said:
"No, not at all. It's just football, it's not life and death. I'm not over there in Iraq. That's pressure. Football's a game. I love the game, and anything I do, football, school, I'm going to do my best. But it is a game. My family would be proud of me regardless, even if I never played football. And that's how it should be." (HSB)


About his son, Mark Kafentzis said:
"Tyson's a deep thinker. For his age he's a lot more mature than most kids. I always told him it didn't matter if he played football or not, he's still my kid. He's probably his own harshest critic. No matter how good he plays, he never had a good enough game." (HSB)


Feeling that he's a better fit at S than LB, Tyson (now 6'1" and 210 pounds) said:
"My body is a safety's body. I'm pretty much a linebacker's mentality in a safety's body. I came in (from high school) at 198 and I should've played safety, but I played linebacker and that worked out well for me. But I didn't really feel comfortable weighing 230, 235, so I wanted to get back down, lose some weight and play safety." (HSB)


About adjusting to playing S, Tyson said:
"The biggest thing is not the mental part, but the physical part. I've got to get used to running, dropping and seeing the different routes and stuff. So seven-on-sevens are going to be crucial. I actually like it better, because you're at the very back and you see what everyone's doing." (HSB)


About playing RB, TE, FB, and LB in high school, Tyson said:
"At my school, I probably could've played O-line. I was one of the biggest guys and I was only around 200 pounds." (HSB)


About the depth UH now has on D, Tyson said:
"Nothing's going to be handed to me. It was a decision that was kind of a mutual thing. We're so stacked at linebacker and moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 -- that's one less linebacker. It's good to have competition at every position. We're pretty deep everywhere. Safety we're deep. Deep at linebacker, deep at D-line. We're definitely deeper than past teams of Hawaii." (HSB)


Mark, who played CB and S at UH, said about changing positions:
"Sometimes it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The more positions you know the better it is for the team. And I know he'll do anything for the team." (HSB)