By KEVIN JAKAHI Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING Standing an imposing 6 feet 6 with long arms on a sturdy 315-pound frame, Isaiah Correa looks like he was born to play football — blessed with the height gene from his parents,
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Standing an imposing 6 feet 6 with long arms on a sturdy 315-pound frame, Isaiah Correa looks like he was born to play football — blessed with the height gene from his parents, Holi and Bunny, 6-2 and 6-1, respectively.
But he grew up playing baseball, picking up a bat at 3 years old and following the Correa family tree. He’s related to Jimmy Correa, the father of Tom Correa, the former Waiakea baseball coach and current athletic director, and Andy Correa, Kamehameha’s baseball coach.
Correa outgrew and dropped the sport in the seventh grade and found a perfect fit in football as a freshman at Waiakea. He was too big to participate in Pop Warner. And despite being a late bloomer, he landed on the All-Big Island Interscholastic Federation first team at offensive line in his senior season.
He recently signed a national letter of intent with Arizona Western, the junior college national runner-up. He’ll have a roommate candidate and likely scrimmage partner in Kamehameha-Hawaii senior defensive tackle Akoakoa Paleka-Kennedy.
“It feels pretty good,” said Correa, who plans to major in business. “I went to camps on Oahu and from there was invited to the (Semper Fidelis) All-America bowl in Arizona in January. From there, Arizona Western contacted me.
“I don’t know Akoakoa personally, but I figure I’ll get to know him way better. It’s good to have somebody from Hawaii playing with me.”
Correa gets the height from his mom’s side of the family. His uncles Jason and Eli Kipilii are both 6-4. His sister, Ailana, is a 5-9 sophomore on the Waiakea volleyball team. His brother, Ethan, is a fourth grader at Waiakea elementary and is already 5-2.
Waiakea offensive line coach Patrick Chong enjoyed squeezing out Correa’s potential and liked not only his size, but other parts of the left tackle’s game as well.
“He’s real humble and soft-spoken. That’s the best thing about him,” Chong said. “He’s a big kid, 6-6 and still growing into his body. He’s got long arms and has typical left tackle size. He’s got good, quick feet and as a downfield blocker he comes with a nasty streak.
“I pushed him really hard because I knew he had potential. You can’t teach size. When he grows into his body, he’ll be a beast. He’s one of the hardest workers. He’ll work out with his dad or on his own. He’s a good teammate. He’s one kid always at practice, even if he has a project at school. He’s never missed a practice.”
Players are nominated and selected based upon their national rankings to get into the Semper Fidelis All-America bowl or camps. The experience was an eye-opener, especially after big-name schools like Oregon started showing interest in Correa, who has a 2.0 grade-point average.
“When we went up from what we saw, it was a given that the caliber of competition is different,” Bunny Correa said. “Isaiah was ranked in the top 300. But Isaiah was one of the biggest, strongest and fastest there. It made him realize he could actually do this. It gave him perspective.
“We’re blessed beyond measure and proud of him. He’s worked very hard in his senior year in school. A lot of schools were interested in him. But unfortunately, his SAT was not a qualifying score. He’s told Ethan to work in class because all the talent in the world won’t get you anywhere without grades.
“Isaiah is doing much better this year. He needed someone to believe in him for him to believe in himself. And coach Chong really pushed him.”
Correa played on both sides of the ball. But he prefers offensive line, explaining there’s more to just protecting the quarterback and opening holes for running backs.
“On defensive line, you just hit the guy with the ball,” he said. “On offensive line, you’re protecting the quarterback, so you can score. Scoring is the biggest part of the game. For offensive line, you need skills and thinking.”
The good teammate in Correa is evident in his viewpoint of protecting his quarterback. That carries over to being a role model for Ethan, who plans to join the Hawaii Football Club, which has no weight restrictions.
Chong pushed Correa in the right direction. Now, Correa is doing the same for his younger brother.
“He looks up to me and watches my games,” Correa said. “He’s bigger than me when I was that age. He’s doing really good in school.
“School is the most important thing. It comes before sports. You have to study hard.”
Correa, who hopes to transfer to Hawaii, is taking that philosophy to heart. Waiakea’s graduation is in May. In June, he’s leaving early for Arizona Western to take summer school and study hard.
