HONOLULU — When it comes to biding time, Hawaii football lineman Ha‘aheo Dela Cruz has a sympathetic ear nearby.
Defensive ends coach Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson knows better than many what it is like to parlay a successful Hawaii high school career into a commitment with an FBS football program — then have to wait one’s turn for multiple years to make a direct impact.
“I basically waited about two and a half years to get on the field,” recalled Pu‘u-Robinson, a former two-way standout at Kamehameha-Maui and Baldwin who graduated high school in 2009 and signed with Washington State before playing his final three years as a tight end at UH. “The longer you wait, the more itchy you definitely get. But I do remember once I did get on that field, it was all worth it.”
Dela Cruz, a former Iolani defensive tackle, signed with UH to be an edge rusher back in December 2022 as part of Timmy Chang’s second recruiting class. He grayshirted the 2023 season in part to recover from necessary shoulder surgery. He then redshirted in 2024, though he made the travel roster and appeared on special teams within the allotted four games to preserve his year of eligibility.
Still technically a freshman, Dela Cruz is among a group of up-and-comers on the defensive line who are still playing behind some established upperclassmen heading into the 2025 season.
He has resolved to look at it as a blessing.
“I feel like I’ve gotten better in my craft because of just learning experience from the older guys, and just being able to be around the program for a year now,” Dela Cruz told Spectrum News. “It made me better, I feel like. I mean, I have a lot to work on, but I think the other experience part was just a big thing for me coming into the spring.”
He could be among the players to participate in live tackling in UH’s “Warrior Pau Hana” event Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, an event that has evolved from a full spring game.
“We might go live with the younger guys,” Chang said this week. “We need to evaluate, so we’ll maybe put that on the tail end.”
Generally, it will be a controlled session. Attendance is free; fans can RSVP for challenges like an extra-point and pass-catching contests. There will be food trucks and a beer garden and players will be available for a 20-minute autograph session afterward.
UH has promised a series of 1-on-1 drills and some 11-on-11 scenarios with game action, but like last year, many of the starters will preserve themselves.
“Just the landscape of football has changed over the last three years,” Chang said, pointing to factors like the transfer portal and NIL to consider. “And so it’s about keeping the guys healthy, getting them ready to go for fall.”
UH is still awaiting word on the eligibility status of four players who saw action at junior colleges. One of them is super senior lineman Elijah Robinson, last year’s defensive MVP.
Robinson is one of five mainstays at D-end that UH hopes to have for the fall, along with Tariq Jones, Jackie Johnson III, Wynden Hoohuli and Kaeo Akana.
“There’s about five or six good (established) players, and they’re (the younger guys) really battling to get on the bus right now,” Pu‘u Robinson said. “And the big emphasis I told those guys is, is, obviously, you have a very experienced crop of about three deep that played last year. Now those last spot or two is going to be, do you have value on special teams? So I’m telling those guys, you have to add value any way you can.”
Dela Cruz, who played D-tackle in high school, has internalized that message. He has put on 30 points from his Iolani days and is up to 255, he said, and is waiting for his moment — on special teams or otherwise.
“I honestly think it was all up to God,” he said. “And I feel like the grayshirt really, really helped me, because I like I was undersized when I was first coming in, and the gray shirt really helped me to get bigger, stronger and faster.”
Pu‘u-Robinson’s long wait was due to a redshirt year, then a torn ACL entering his second season on the Palouse. These days, he’s taken to running alongside his position group in post-practice gassers the width of the field. Every time a player didn’t run to the ball in a drill, a gasser is tacked on at the end.
Pu‘u-Robinson is often out in front by the finish line.
“It’s a little bit deceiving. Those guys are dog tired,” Pu‘u-Robinson said. “I try to stay active with those guys.”
Dela Cruz’s first action last year was at Washington State. Pu‘u-Robinson said he performed “pretty well.” He sees Dela Cruz as a true defensive end and not his other charges, a hybrid edge outside linebacker.
“As he compounds development over the years, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to really help this defense,” Pu‘u-Robinson said.
Defensive ends coach Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson, second from right, ran gassers with his position group at the end of a recent spring football practice. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Ha‘aheo Dela Cruz, right, with Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson at a recent practice. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
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