Feature on Tony Tuioti

About coming back to Hawaii to work with Mack, Tuioti said:
"I look at (McMackin) as a mentor. So when the call was made for me to come out here it was a no-brainer. So I'm just excited to be here and be able to help out and be a part of a program that I love." (HSB)

About leaving Vegas after spending 3 years settling in there with his wife and 6 kids, Tuioti said:
"It was tough to leave. But the only thing that would bring me back home was to be able to work for the alma mater, especially to be able to work for Coach Mack." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Tuioti's hiring as the Warriors' director of football player personnel was officially announced yesterday and, though much of his first day of work was spent helping out at the UH Skills Camp, his primary duties will be coordinating the Warriors coaching staff's recruiting efforts and monitoring academics."

About his duties, Tuioti said:
"(The coaches) have an eye for what they want. It's working closely with Coach Mack, organizing everything for them as they go out and start recruiting. There's a lot of things just to try to make the job as seamless as possible for the coaches to allow them to do what they need to do. The big thing is to communicate with the kids. We want to keep all the local kids at home. Coach Mack expressed that time and time again, that Hawaii is the No. 1 base for us." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Tuioti played at UH from 1996 to 1999, enduring the 0-12 season in 1998 and celebrating a WAC co-championship the following year. He stayed with the program as a graduate assistant for two years and later became the head coach at Kalaheo High School, leading the Mustangs for three seasons. He then moved to Las Vegas - where both his parents and the parents of his wife, former UH volleyball player Keala (Nihipali), live - and served as defensive coordinator at Silverado High School last season."

About Tuioti, Mack said:
"Tony is the perfect person for this position. He's coached in Hawaii, California and Las Vegas and has a lot of ties with Samoa and Hawaii. Recruiting is the lifeblood of what we do here and his leadership and direction will help us in that area." (HSB)

About how Mack was concerned that he would miss not being able to coach players on the field, Tuioti said:
"That was one of (McMackin's) biggest concerns, because he knows as a coach it's kind of hard to not be so hands-on now. I understand what my role is in this program. I've always been a team player, and just to have the opportunity to work with Coach Mack and work with all the other coaches is a blessing. I'm just excited to be back. I'd come back to do anything, even if it's to water the grass." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Tuioti coached three highly regarded players at Silverado who will be in the sights of recruiters from across the country, and attracting those types of players to Manoa is part of the challenge Tuioti is looking forward to."

About recruiting players that other schools have as priorities also, Tuioti said:
"You have to be able to go out and win recruiting battles, kids that have offers with other schools. We have to win those. We're going to try to raise the bar and be competitive. The biggest thing is winning solves all problems with recruiting. The more we win, the easier it is for us to recruit and get people to come here. My job is just the organizational piece and creating a structure for our coaches to make things a lot easier for them." (HSB)