HONOLULU – For safety Ikem Okeke and defensive tackle Kendall Hune, it all began on the last day of their first seasons as Hawaii football players.
It was in the 2016 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl when Okeke, weary from a weight-draining illness, had a breakout game in the first start of his college career. And it was in last year’s SoFi Hawaii Bowl when Hune, who did not start all season, came off the sideline for a performance that merited UH’s Most Outstanding Player award.
On Tuesday, the Rainbow Warriors will participate in the Hawaii Bowl for the third time in Nick Rolovich’s four seasons as head coach. The SoFi-sponsored game against Brigham Young has significance for seniors Okeke and Hune.
“We have an opportunity to play a rival, BYU, so my goal is to beat BYU, ” Okeke said. “We haven’t beaten them the past two times we played them. It would be nice to beat them for my last game at Aloha Stadium.”
Okeke has fuzzy memories of the week leading to the 2016 Hawaii Bowl. Okeke contracted an illness in which he lost about 20 pounds. “I couldn’t eat, I was so sick, ” Okeke said. “I was drinking water to keep the fluids through my body.”
But Okeke was fortunate to know a doctor who made house calls—his mother, Dr. Chinyere Okeke, who is affiliated with several Las Vegas hospitals.
Under his mother’s care, Okeke’s symptoms began to subside. “The day before the game was the first time I ate that whole week. I threw all that up that night. The next day, I felt pretty good.”
Okeke, who was used as an outside linebacker that freshman season, made his first start—at nickelback against Middle Tennessee. He made four tackles, including a momentum-shifting strip sack to set up a touchdown, in Hawaii’s 52-35 win. He also was poised for a pick-6 except the pass in his direction was batted by a teammate.
“That bowl week was my opportunity to start, ” Okeke said. “I wasn’t going to let being sick or anything else take me away from that opportunity to get on the field and show what I could do. I performed well enough to help us win a game. Now we’re here all the way to my senior year.”
As a freshman, Okeke learned from older linebackers Jahlani Tavai, Russell Williams, Malachi Mageo and Jerrol Garcia-Williams. In turn, Okeke now is a mentor to younger Warriors. Okeke never did regain the weight he lost, and has played as a 200-pound safety the past two seasons. He is tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
Hune was at Toledo for a year, departing following a coaching change. He played his sophomore season at Eastern Arizona (junior ) College in Thatcher, a town set on 6.7 square miles. It was UH linebackers coach Mark Banker who recruited the self-styled “underrated dude.”
“He worked the Arizona area, ” Hune said of Banker. “I thank him all the time.”
Hune was part of the 3-technique rotation in 2018. In the Hawaii Bowl against Louisiana Tech, he recovered a fumble and made a diving interception. The Warriors lost the game 31-14, but Hune was recognized with a trophy.
“Individual accolades are good, but the team win is what we’re looking for, ” Hune said.
Hune’s “trophy ” was an engraved outrigger canoe paddle.
“The biggest thing was trying to get the trophy home, ” said Hune, whose family lives in Indiana. “I had to bring it through the airport. I had to figure out how to ship it home.”
But in an arrangement between bowl officials and the airline, the trophy was safely packed.
“I’m glad I could bring it home, ” Hune said. “It’s in the living room. It’s standing up. It’s, like, standing up. It’s kind of funny. My little sister plays basketball. For her graduation party, there were a whole bunch of people who came to the house. It was like, ‘Bro, what is this ?’ She said, ‘That’s my brother’s MVP trophy from the bowl game.’ They looked at it and they were, like, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool.’ It’s something I’m going to keep for the rest of my life. It’s unique, and that’s for the culture out here.”
Who: BYU (7-5) vs. Hawaii (9-5), Dec. 24, 3 p.m. Hawaii
Line: BYU by 2.
Series record: BYU leads, 23-8.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
BYU goes for its sixth straight victory over Hawaii. The Warriors have a chance to win 10 or more times in a season for only the sixth time in school history and the first since a 10-4 mark in 2010.
KEY MATCHUP
Hawaii’s passing attack against BYU’s defense. The Warriors are 6th nationally in passing offense at 335.9 yards a game, led by Cole McDonald (3,642 yards, 29 TDs). BYU’s defense averages 203.75 passing yards a game. Linebackers have accounted for 10 of the Cougars’ 15 interceptions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BYU: QB Zach Wilson made his first start last year in a 49-23 victory over Hawaii, making him the youngest quarterback to start at BYU. He missed six weeks with a thumb fracture on his throwing hand. He has 2,108 yards and 11 TDs in eight games. Wilson grew up in Hawaii until moving to Utah in 2017 to play football.
Hawaii: QB Cole McDonald began the year as the starter, lost it to Chevan Cordeiro and now splits time. McDonald started 11 of the 14 games and has accounted for 4,035 yards (393 rushing) and 35 TDs. He also has thrown 14 interceptions.
FACT & FIGURES
BYU faced seven teams that went to bowl games this year. … This is the 32nd meeting of the two schools, but the first in a bowl game. … BYU has a campus on the northeast side of Oahu. … Hawaii last beat BYU in 2001 when both teams were in the Western Athletic Conference. … This is the 13th bowl game for Hawaii, and only two of them have been away from Aloha Stadium — a 2008 Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia and a 1992 Holiday Bowl victory over Illinois. … BYU is playing a bowl game in Hawaii for the first time since 1992, a 23-20 loss to Kansas. … The Warriors have lost four of their last five bowl games. … BYU is designated as the home team, even though it’s Hawaii’s home field. The Cougars in 2012 beat San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. … The Cougars have played bowl games in 11 states. … BYU coach Kalani Sitake was raised in Laie, Hawaii. The Cougars have more than 35 players of Polynesian descent on the roster.