Walk-on DE Kamalu Umu was awarded a scholarship

About how he gave up a scholarship at Charleston Southern to walk on to UH and now has been awarded a scholarship to UH, Kamalu Umu said:
"It's a blessing for me and my family. The man upstairs blessed us." (HSA)


About how teh scholarship will help his wife and their 2-year-old child, Umu said:
"This will give me extra money to provide for my family." (HSA)


About how Umu was awarded the scholarship made available when freshman DE Veni Manu quit the team this week, Mack said:
"He deserved one. He worked hard. He earned it." (HSA)


About how their starting DEs (Liko Satele and Umu) entered training camp as walk-ons and have now gotten scholarships, Vaughn Meatoga said:
"I'm happy for both of them. Everybody is happy for them." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Born in Honolulu, he lived on Kauai through the eighth grade, then moved back to Oahu to attend Saint Louis School. He was set to attend San Jose State, but there were complications, and he ended up attending Arizona Western (junior) College. After two years there, he sent videos to UH, San Jose State and San Diego State. Then he received a surprise offer from Charleston Southern, a I-AA school.  Umu would receive a full ride, which included a family unit in the dormitories. Rain could attend classes on a work-study program while Tewai attended an on-campus day-care center."


About the scholarship from Charleston Southern, Umu said:
"They gave me an offer I couldn't turn down." (HSA)


About how he and his wife (who graduated from Saint Francis) missed their families and decided to move to Hawaii in the summer of 2009, Umu said about walking on to UH:
"No guarantees. I knew I had to work my hardest, and trust something good would happen." (HSA)


HSA Note: "In accordance with NCAA transfer rules, Umu was not eligible to play in any games in 2009. He said financial aid and help from family members covered school and living expenses. This summer, during a physical examination, tests showed that Umu had an injury to the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Surgery was not required, but Umu was instructed to undergo physical-therapy treatments three times a week."


About rehabbing his shoulder all summer, Umu said:
"I had to keep working on it. I wanted to play this season." (HSA)


HSA Note: "During spring training, Umu was capable of bench-pressing 225 pounds 30 times. He recently resumed weight training, and now can do 22 reps of 225 pounds."


About how Umu was mainly a pass-rusher during spring practice but now is playing stronger against the run, Mack said:
"He's playing strong. Now he's very good against the run." (HSA)


About moving from left DE to right DE, Umu said:
"Being a defensive lineman, you have to be all-around. You have to be able to pass-rush and stop the run." (HSA)


About how Umu had to take six 3-credit classes this summer to be eligible to play, Meatoga said:
"That's the kind of guy he is. You ask him to do something, and it gets done. He took care of business. That's one of the things Coach respects about him." (HSA)


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