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Syracuse head coach Dino Babers likes that the word “aloha” can mean hello, goodbye and love — all in five letters.

“They don’t waste around with a whole bunch of words. Sometimes their words can mean a lot of things, and it’s all the intent,” Babers said.

When Babers wanted to recruit from Hawaii, his pitch to offensive lineman Kalan Ellis was simple. He brought up Kalihi, Hawaii’s Rainbow Drive-In, a “hole-in-the-wall” joint that Babers knew about because of his time at the University of Hawaii and told Ellis that he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ellis said he was “intrigued” to come meet Babers after that call, eventually turning down Pac-12 offers to move almost 5,000 miles away from home.

“With Dino Babers being from Hawaii, there’s some ties there,” said Chad Konishi, Ellis’ high school athletic director. “You kind of go where your roots are.”

According to the NCAA’s Race and Gender Demographics Database, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander football players made up 1.48% of all players in 2020, with less than 500 total nationally. The Orange have three players from Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent on their 2021 roster, amounting to nearly 3.03% of the team. But all three players — Ellis, freshmen Josh Ilaoa and Austyn Kauhi are on the offensive line.

After a multitude of O-line injuries throughout the year, Ellis and Ilaoa in particular saw a lot of time this season. But in future seasons, the Orange could have three Polynesian starting offensive linemen — and an increase of overall recruits from Hawaii, Babers said.

But besides the love and “truth” the three players bring to Syracuse, Babers said all of them possess a sort of “gentle, bear-type” nature. The trio is only physical when it has to be during practices and games, otherwise displaying the “aloha culture” that Babers has embraced at SU.

“They’ll walk around and they’ll be nice until it’s time not to be nice,” Babers said. “I’ve always appreciated that about them.”

When they appeared this season, Ellis and Ilaoa had to switch into that game mode after injuries to SU’s starters, like when both stepped in for Chris Bleich and Airon Servais against Wake Forest. The Orange lost, but running back Sean Tucker was able to record his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the year, notching 153 yards on 26 carries.

“It just turns on and turns off,” Ilaoa said. “Once you cross the line, it’s straight business after that.”

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Ilaoa isn’t from Hawaii like Ellis and Kauhi, but his cousin Nate Ilaoa played at the University of Hawaii and later for the Philadelphia Eagles. He became Babers’ first recruit of Polynesian descent to attend Syracuse. Ilaoa wasn’t surprised about being the only Pacific Islander on the roster — he had been used to that his whole life, he said.

“When I moved to Charlotte in fourth grade, I was the only Polynesian player,” Ilaoa said. “It stuck out, but it wasn’t in my mind that much.”

Ilaoa spent most of his time on the sidelines after coming to Syracuse in 2020. But the Orange struggled, averaging only 17.8 points last year. The offensive line ranked 113th out of 127 teams, according to Pro Football Focus’ positional grades.

Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh left SU for Arizona State after last year, but his last contribution to Syracuse was landing Ellis and Kauhi. Cavanaugh coached at the University of Houston with Konishi, who first put Ellis on his radar for potential recruits.

Konishi first joined St. Louis (Hawaii) School’s athletic department when Ellis was a sophomore. Ellis had been at the K-12 school since ninth grade, transferring after St. Francis (Hawaii) School — where Konishi also worked — was shut down.

St. Louis is known as a football powerhouse in Hawaii, with recent alumni including Marcus Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa. The team, coached by Ron and Cal Lee, has won seven state championships since 1999, and has traveled to the mainland U.S. to face top teams in the country. In Ellis’ undefeated sophomore season, the Crusaders defeated California’s Narbonne High School.

Konishi said the team’s recent success has had St. Louis on the map for Power Five colleges to recruit from. Tagovailoa was one of the first to move across the country further away from Hawaii, attending Alabama.

“Knowing that they came from the same school I did — them being from the same school just shows that I can do it too,” Ellis said of Mariota and Tagovailoa. “They’re perfect examples and good role models.”

Polynesian players have been at the professional and collegiate level for a long time, Ilaoa said, but schools on the East Coast have only recently started to recruit from the island following the recent success of players like Tagovailoa.

Other recent events like the Polynesian Bowl have helped more players of Polynesian descent get looks from major schools, Konishi added. Players are chosen from the island and the mainland as well, traveling to Aloha Stadium, which has previously been used to host NFL Pro Bowl games.

Ellis and Kauhi were both nominated to last year’s Polynesian Bowl, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19. Ellis still wears the hat and the rest of the gear from the event, saying the game provides players the ability to compete “against the best” while also being surrounded by people from the same background.

“It highlights the Polynesian community and how successful they can be,” Konishi said about the Polynesian Bowl. “Those children from the mainland are able to come over and experience the Polynesian culture they all so well represent.”

After Polynesian Bowl nominations, Ellis and Kauhi finally joined Syracuse before the start of the 2021 season. Ellis said the decision to turn down Pac-12 schools and go to Syracuse was about “providing for his family,” a responsibility he said all Hawaiians share.

The word for family in Hawaiian is “ohana,” a phrase that Konishi said is embedded in St. Louis’ program and every other high school football program in Hawaii. Now Ellis and Kauhi are with a new “ohana” at Syracuse, giving Ilaoa his first teammates from his background. Ilaoa said he got really excited hearing them talk about getting “two more” Polynesian players, setting a trend for the makeup of future recruiting classes at Syracuse.

“The numbers are just growing now,” Ilaoa said of Polynesian players at SU.

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Published on December 6, 2021 at 12:22 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu