Signee Analysis: Offensive Lineman Houston Kaahaaina-Torres

While Nebraska's still behind the eight ball at offensive tackle when it comes to underclassmen being ready for significant playing time, the same cannot be said about the interior positions. Several of Donovan Raiola's high school recruits are expected to contend for starting roles or a spot within the two-deep at guard or center.

With the addition of Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler, Nebraska's roster is chock-full of guard options, but there are questions at center. As a former three-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten center himself at Wisconsin, Raiola knows how vital that position is along the O-line.

One of the more underrated transfer additions Matt Rhule brought in during his first offseason at Nebraska was Ben Scott. The former Arizona State Sun Devil started the past two seasons and earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors both years.

As much as his play on the field was felt, his presence on the roster also afforded coaches the luxury of grooming a replacement. Either Justin Evans, an 18-game starter at guard who was originally recruited to play center, or redshirt freshman Sam Sledge — Ben Scott's backup in the Pinstripe Bowl — is expected to take the baton.

Jason Maciejczak is also working at center and could be a candidate. Perhaps Raiola looks at someone like Turner Corcoran or Gibson Pyle? Whoever wins the job, coaches are hoping Scott's heir apparent offers the same developmental runway as their predecessor.

Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola is a Hawaii native, and he identified Houston Kaahaaina-Torres back when he was initially hired to be part of then-head coach Scott Frost's staff. Raiola offered the Honolulu St. Louis standout after watching him perform at the All Poly U Camp in Utah on June 16, 2022.

He's been Raiola's top interior prospect for this cycle ever since, with him being earmarked for the center spot. While Nebraska's O-line coach ran point in the recruitment, Husker director of player personnel Keith Williams also was heavily involved. As was Dylan Raiola, a longtime friend of Kaahaaina-Torres.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Kaahaaina-Torres has seen his stock steadily climb since college coaches began taking notice during the 2022 spring evaluation period following his freshman season. He would go on to established himself as one of the best interior offensive linemen on the West Coast for the 2025 class.

With double-digit offers already in hand, Kaahaaina-Torres was one of the better-looking players at the ESPN 300 Elite Hawaii Camp held in Makawao on the campus of King Kekaulike High School during the first week of July 2022. He participated in all of the physical testing and individual drills, but a wrist injury kept him out of the 1-on-1s.

He returned to the same camp a year later and was a full participant. With over 450 players from around the country taking part, he earned the title of Alpha Dog of the event after a dominant performance.

Husker coaches were able to get Kaahaaina-Torres on campus for an unofficial visit for the Red-White spring game on April 22, 2023, where Matt Rhule officially reoffered him. The visit went extremely well and the Huskers planted themselves among his top schools.

Houston Kaahaaina-Torres in the Nebraska weight complex. | Nebraska Athletics via @HoustonKTorres on X

Matt Rhule and Donovan Raiola visited him during the contact period in January 2024 and discussed getting him back on campus. Kaahaaina-Torres was about to embark on an ambitious camp schedule, so narrowing down a date would prove difficult.

Kaahaaina-Torres was named Alpha Dog of the second annual Warriors 4 Youth showcase put on by Ikaika Athletics. The multi-day event was held at Farrington High School in Honolulu in late January, a week after the Polynesian Bowl as a kickoff event for the spring evaluation period.

In mid-March, Kaahaaina-Torres participated in the Rivals Camp Series at East Los Angeles College and was named the O-line MVP. When the regionals were finished, Rivals staffers took a position-by-position look at which prospects impressed the most that spring/summer. Rivals ranked Kaahaaina-Torres the eighth-best O-lineman they saw during the entirety of the camp series.

Kaahaaina-Torres closed out another impressive camp season in July during the Under Armour Next Camp series in his home state of Hawaii. After another standout showing, Kaahaaina-Torres was in consideration for Alpha Dog recognition and earned an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-America game.

The lineman had wanted to return to Lincoln for the spring game in April and originally planned to use that weekend for his official visit, but St. Louis had a new head coach and Kaahaaina-Torres wanted to carve time out to make sure he had a firm understanding of the new offense being installed. He'd visited finalist Arizona State the weekend prior, April 19-21, so he made the decision to push back his visit.

He decided to use the month of June to see his remaining top schools. He was at Michigan State (May 31-June 2) and Utah (June 14-16) before coming to Lincoln the weekend of June 21. A year earlier, he had to wear a hard hat while touring the facilities that were still under construction. He was blown away by the finished product.

During his visit, he was hosted by lineman Tyler Knaak and spent a lot of time around Ben Scott, who graduated from St. Louis in 2019. Kaahaaina-Torres also had the chance to visit with fellow Hawaiian Preston Taumua, who signed as part of the 2024 class and had just enrolled a few weeks earlier. It gave him a chance to gain some perspective from his friend.

Taumua admitted it was a big adjustment being so far from home and that he fought through homesickness. He also reassured Kaahaaina-Torres the O-line room is tight-knit and the coaches are like father figures, which helped him with the initial culture shock.

The relationships he built with Donovan Raiola, Matt Rhule and Keith Williams over the last two years gave Houston and his family the assurance they needed that Nebraska was the place for him. They felt the coaching staff genuinely cared about him and his family and that's what put Nebraska over the top.

Kaahaaina-Torres committed to Nebraska a week after returning home on June 30 over Arizona State, Michigan State and Utah. He held roughly 20 offers including Arizona, BYU, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, SMU and Washington State.

After playing center as a sophomore, he moved outside and spent the past two seasons playing both tackle spots for St. Louis. Kaahaaina-Torres, who also competes as a wrestler, uses his hands extremely well and is very strong at the point of attack thanks to a tremendous initial punch and the ability to reset quickly.

He's a fluid athlete with impressive footwork and plays with a tenacious demeanor. Kaahaaina-Torres has excellent lateral mobility and balance and does a good job of sliding and mirroring to stay in front of edge rushers. He has a strong lower body which allows him to anchor against bull rushers. He's a high-effort blocker who is equally adept in the run game and does a good job of getting to the second level.

He turned down the opportunity to play in the Under Armour All-America game so he could accompany the Huskers on their bowl trip and take part in a few practices. It's stipulated an early enrollee who takes part in team activities can participate in only one high school all-star game. Kaahaaina-Torres chose to play his last game in front of friends and family in his home state at the Polynesian Bowl, where he reportedly had a solid week of practices.

Kaahaaina-Torres is back in Lincoln taking part in winter conditioning and will participate in spring ball. He could be someone who pushes for playing time in his second year on campus. Really good- looking prospect who could be a multi-year starter at center.

More in Jeremy Pernell's series

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