By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
HONOLULU — Resembling a pit bull at 6 feet and 300 pounds of packed muscle, Mike Andrade is an undersized underdog compared to the other defensive linemen on the University of Hawaii’s roster.
He even entered the football program in such fashion. The 2012 Konawaena High graduate was the last recruit in coach Norm Chow’s first recruiting class. UH announced 18 commitments on Feb. 1, 2012; Andrade was not among the mentioned.
Andrade signed nearly a month later. He redshirted in 2012, Chow’s first year at UH, which finished 3-9 last season, and lost four defensive linemen to season-ending injuries that depleted depth for much of the year.
Pretty much all of the 16 or so D-linemen are 6-1 or taller, including Siasau Matagiese and Beau Yap, a pair of 6-2 returning starters. The only other relatively short guy is 5-11 senior George Daily-Lyles, who is converting from linebacker to end.
Probably the only time Andrade is not considered undersized is when he’s competing in his favorite pastime. He was a three-time Hawaii High School Rodeo Association all-around state champion. Horses likely don’t care how tall a rider is; they’re more worried about weight.
In any case, back then he was 260 pounds at Konawaena, producing one of the most stat-blowing Big Island Interscholastic Federation seasons in his senior year in 2011. He piled up 86 tackles and 36 sacks — a major highlight for him, but a question mark about the league’s talent pool among the coaching community.
Still, one thing is clear as daylight. Andrade’s redshirt year was definitely put to good use. He hit the weight room really hard, and transformed himself into a speed-and-strength weapon who’s in the tackle mix for playing time in UH’s 4-3 defense.
“We have a new strength and conditioning coach (Gary Beemer), and he changed our diet, the way we lift and condition,” Andrade said. “He came from the NFL (Beemer was with the Minnesota Vikings last year). Lifting is about a lot of science. It’s about percentages. He knows our max lift. We don’t always lift heavy. We switch percentages.
“All the lifting has helped. I can get off the ball faster, and shed blocks, too. My punch is a lot stronger against offensive linemen. That’s crucial against their arm extension.”
Being an outdoorsman and living in Kealakekua, it’s no surprise that Andrade is majoring in environmental science. His job occupation target is to work for either Bishop Museum or the state forestry.
His grade-point average is 3.0, something he can proudly point to his parents, Mike Andrade and Joni Loando. They show their support flying to every home game at Aloha Stadium, even when Andrade redshirted last season. They plan to rack up their frequent flier miles, and do the same thing this year.
“My family supports Hawaii football,” said Andrade, likely unaware that his parents were part of UH’s home average attendance of 30,031 fans; Aloha Stadium seats 50,000.
He had a full-ride offer on the table from Utah State and a few other smaller colleges coming out of Konawaena. But he wanted to stay home and play in front of family and friends. That’s an attractive recruiting lure that hooked him good.
“I definitely have a lot of pride with the ‘Hawaii’ name on the front of my uniform and playing in front of my family,” he said. “That drives me every day at practice. I’m playing here. I’m playing for my state and my family.”
Lewis Powell is the defensive line coach. When he was a senior at Utah in 2003, he was 6-3 and 297 pounds. Powell was the 2003 Liberty Bowl defensive player of the game in Utah’s 17-0 victory over Southern Miss.
He wasn’t the biggest guy on the D-line. But he got the job done, and played in the Arena Football League for a few years. Powell can spot toughness, and he sees that quality in Andrade, who was the BIIF Division II defensive player of the year as a senior.
“He’s a little shorter, but he makes up for that with strength and speed,” Powell said. “I like his attitude and strength. He worked hard in the weight room and has good grades. He’s only a (redshirt) freshman. He’ll help us out and make the travel team.
“His role is as a backup. He’s got good leaders with the upperclassmen. In the future, he’ll have his chance. He’s got a lot of upside with his strength and speed. He’s a tough kid. It’s like a dream for him to come over here and play, and we love having him.”
Andrade is not only a hard worker (40 pounds of muscle is a testament to that), he’s also a team player. He understands that he has to wait his turn. Matagiese is a senior, Yap a junior and two other seniors Tavita Woodward, a part-time starter, and Iuta Tepa, a transfer from UCLA, figure to log a lot of minutes.
“My role on the team is to always try and better the older guys,” Andrade said. “If I have to give them looks on the scout team, I’ll do that, whatever it takes to benefit the team.
“I’m always helping the young guys, too. That’s important to be a good role-model. That’s important to me.”
This is the last in a three-part series about Big Islanders on the University of Hawaii football team.