'10 HI WDE Kona Schwenke (Notre Dame Signee)

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irish4ever

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Aerosmith777 said:
Yeah, no matter where they play him, he'll only be a true freshman next year. And at 6'5", its not like it would be unheard of for him to put on say 20-30 lbs over the next couple of years, and then he'd just be a somewhat small-ish true junior 3-4 DE. While the defense certainly needs help now, if they see this kid in camp and think he's really meant to play DE, even in a 3-4, and they decide to red shirt him to that end if they feel they can't really get the most out of him by playing him right away, that'd be fine with me.
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Agreed! Though they struggled last year, there is some talent left in the stable (so to speak).
 
TerryTate

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Bring the pain Schwenke. If we keep picking up islanders we could institute the Haka as our warm up.
 
HawaiianIrish

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Kahuku LOI Day: Jamora, Schwenke, Kaka : Hawaii Prep World

Kahuku LOI Day: Jamora, Schwenke, Kaka
February 3, 2010 by Star-Bulletin
Filed under Football
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By Paul Honda

The outgoing crop of football talent at Kahuku isn’t large this season, but there’s plenty of quality.

Hauoli Jamora and Jackson Kaka made good on their initial commitments this morning. Jamora, the Star-Bulletin defensive player of the year, followed through and signed with Washington.

Kaka inked his pact with New Mexico State.

Meanwhile, Kona Schwenke finalized his agreement with Notre Dame, the late pursuer that put a twist into the recruiting puzzle.

Schwenke originally committed to BYU, but other offers came in late in the season. Many offers. The 6-foot-4 senior was a target of Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, West Virginia and Wyoming in addition to BYU and Notre Dame. Other schools, including Hawaii, were interested, but backed off after he committed early (summer) to the Cougars.

When Schwenke decided to visit Arizona, and then Notre Dame, BYU unhinged the relationship.

“They told me if I went to Notre Dame, they’d pull it. That’s the thing that got me. I thought maybe I shouldn’t visit Notre Dame,” he said. “The (BYU) coaches said maybe I can’t abide by (school) rules.”

The visit to the Midwest was a turning point.

“I was surprised at how small the student body is, only 6,000 students. Their academics, they have a lot of help for students to get their degree. They graduate 97 percent of their students,” he said.

Schwenke has filled out some and now weighs 232 pounds, up from 220. He forsook basketball and hit the weight room.

It was 14 degrees in South Bend, Ind., while he was there. And windy.

“Snow. You see snowflakes on the window,” he said.

Adjusting to football at the BCS level will be interesting. The Fighting Irish have a new coach in Mike Kelly, formerly of Cincinnati, and will switch from a 4-3 (under Charley Weis) to a 3-4.

“I might play outside linebacker,” Schwenke said.

Former Punahou standout Manti Te’o started for the Irish as a freshman last fall.

“I saw Manti rarely,” Schwenke said.

Jamora, at 6-3 and 235 pounds during the fall, figures to be a fixture for UW at defensive end. The Huskies employ a 4-3 defense.

Jamora now weighs 243 pounds and has been sidelined by a wrist injury suffered during the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs. The cast on his right wrist — purple — will remain on for another two months.

He had offers from BYU, Hawaii, Oregon State and Wyoming. Boise State offered a grayshirt.

“It was pretty chill. I made my decision after I visited U-Dub,” Jamora said.

UCLA, he added, called and spoke with an uncle “a couple of days ago.”

The possibility of facing his former teammate, Schwenke, makes both youngsters smile.

“I’ll be on special teams looking for him,” Jamora promised.

Kaka, a tight end, also had an offer from Wyoming. He and Leilehua quarterback Andrew Manley are NMSU’s island recruits this year.

“I visited (NMSU) with Andrew. It was good fun. It’s a desert, dry dead mountains,” said Kaka, who has seen mountains all his life.

He grew up in New Zealand before moving to Hawaii four years ago with his family. The Aggies coaching staff made him feel comfortable.

“The head coach and the assistant coaches are great. That’s why I like the program,” he said.

Kaka was diligent about the process.

“I was stressing out. I had to send my scholarship (paperwork) at 7 in the morning,” he said.

Back in New Zealand, Kaka was familiar with the national sport, rugby.

“Football, you have the techniques to learn. You have to play smart in the game,” said Kaka, who also plays basketball for Kahuku. “In rugby, you don’t have to remember 100 plays.”
 
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HereComeTheIrish

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Nice to see "Mike" Kelly pulling this kid in.... lol
 
TerryTate

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Kona, Manti, Utupo and even Toma could teach it to the guys... This could replace "Crank me Up" The student body would love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
HawaiianIrish

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Back to Kona: The Honolulu Advertiser is working out the kinks to show Kona's LOI signing on the net.
 
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irishmarine

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With our recent plucking success of the islands I hope the pipeline continues and we get more prospects from there...Set out the poi and pineapples and hopefully we can get another couple monsters from the island. Hahaha I meant no disrespect by that comment.
 
HawaiianIrish

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Sorry Boys Hawaiian been busy with work and spring ball. Check out the posts i put under 2011 Hawaii football talent for some of the latest hawaii football news...

Oh the Hawaii stud this year is OL/DT Paulay ASIATA 6-5 and 290 and growing....
 
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southernill

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I hear Kona is up to 240lbs! Not sure if it is true, but that would be a good start. Also hear he has the frame to put on quite a few pounds, ala KLM when he arrived at ND.
 
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ISD Freebie Article on Kona Schwenke

ISD Freebie Article on Kona Schwenke

Raised On Rugby

“Notre Dame wasn’t even in the picture,” McKay Schwenke admitted. “He was all set to go to BYU. Out of all the schools that really wanted him. He felt that BYU was where he wanted to be. But when that offer from Notre Dame came, it almost made him change everything because it was like when you have the desire to play somewhere but you don’t have that offer, you have to look at your other top choices and that’s what BYU was.”

Although Charlie Weis’ staff recruited Schwenke, a scholarship never came. Once Brian Kelly took the reins of Notre Dame’s program last January, the new Irish coach revisited the defensive end’s recruitment. Eventually, an offer came late in the game, just over a week before National Signing Day.

“To just get an offer from Notre Dame was certainly an honor for Kona,” the elder Schwenke said. “When he got that offer, it meant more to him than any other one he got. When he would rank the Notre Dame offer, he would always put it at the very, very top.

“So when that Notre Dame scholarship came in, Kona was like, ‘Wow.’ He understands the magnitude of a school like Notre Dame, the history behind the school and everything like that. He has a connection with Manti Te’o and Roby Toma and he’s learned about the school and its history through them.”
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Zibby32

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not sure how no one else has picked up on this on Facebook, seems like Kona is teetering on the edge of a transfer situation!

Last few days updates via Facebook:

Kona Schwenke: cant do this no more. :(

Kona Schwenke: idk

Kona Schwenke: taking some time off too think things over... maybe things will turn around...who knows.


There was one from yesterday he must have deleted. Hope he is just missing home, possibly family or a lady friend!

Manti to the rescue?
 
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Big23Head

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Maybe he is frustrated with how ND is playing...

Because he is now listed as Ethan Johnson's backup so he will be playing this Saturday
 
ndcoltsfan2010

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Big23Head said:
Maybe he is frustrated with how ND is playing...

Because he is now listed as Ethan Johnson's backup so he will be playing this Saturday
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He should get some good playing time this weekend. I hope he puts his frustration and anger out on the field. This kid is talented and I think he can help us out in alot of ways. I am rooting for this kid and hope he stays.
 
mick2

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ndcoltsfan2010 said:
He should get some good playing time this weekend. I hope he puts his frustration and anger out on the field. This kid is talented and I think he can help us out in alot of ways. I am rooting for this kid and hope he stays.
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dude i can't wait to see kona in there, i am really excited about this guy for some reason.
 
ndcoltsfan2010

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mick2 said:
dude i can't wait to see kona in there, i am really excited about this guy for some reason.
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Alot of the island players are just amazingly hard hitting and intense. When I was young I lived out there and that is where I started playing football. I remember how intense the locals were in so many ways especially when it came to hitting in practice. When I moved back to the mainland, I continued to play and I played with some good guys, but I will never forget how hard the island guys hit. I'm excited to see him play as well.
 
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