Inside The Huskies

Another Day At The Beach: UW Offers Hawaiian Lineman

Isaiah Bertola has the Huskies among 18 scholarship proposals sent his way.
Dan Raley|
Isaiah Bertola from Hawaii has a UW football offer.
Isaiah Bertola from Hawaii has a UW football offer. | BYU

There was a time, when Jim Lambright was a focal part of the University of Washington coaching staff that the Huskies annually scoured the Hawaiian islands for football talent.

Lambright, who was the Husky defensive coordinator before becoming head coach in 1993-98, would practically live on Oahu for a couple weeks and wouldn't come home until he had a player or two lined up for Montlake.

As the succeeding coaching staffs have changed over, some of that island emphasis was lost or the UW missed on recent imports.

Meki Ah You was a highly regarded linebacker who brought knee issues with him, stayed just two seasons and went home and gave up football.

Kuao Peihopa was a physical specimen at defensive tackle with a lot of promise who got into trouble with Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff, was asked to leave and finished up as an offensive lineman for the University of Hawaii.

Not everyone could be as productive as edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who was recruited by the UW eight long years ago and played in a national championship game.

However, the Huskies seem to have put a new reliance on the Hawaiian football player.

They brought in quarterback Kini McMillan from Mililani last year and this winter have welcomed tight end Kekua Aumua from Kahuku and linebacker Ramzak Fruean from Nanakuli (by way of Bethel, Washington) to the roster.

On Monday, the UW kept up the pressure in securing island talent by offering 6-foot-5, 305-pound Isaiah Bertola -- considered Hawaii's No. 1 offensive lineman for 2027 -- who hails from Ewa Beach., but now plays for Farrington High School in Honolulu.

A 4-star recruit, Bertola is no secret to the talent sleuths out there on the mainland.

He currently holds 18 offers. Among the bigger schools in pursuit are Arizona State, Arizona, Auburn, BYU, California, Duke, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, SMU, UCLA, Utah and Washington State.

As a sophomore for Campbell High, Bertola got an pressure-fllled introduction to big-time football. He was brought up from the JV squad and made his varsity debut against Kahuku in the OIA Open Division championship game.

In selling the program, Jedd Fisch's football staff might want to share with this big kid how other island-produced offensive linemen have fared in Montlake,

To name drop a little, UW centers Olin Kreutz and Bern Brostek, both from Honolulu, later enjoyed NFL careers while offensive tackle Siupeli Malamala from Kailua started on the 1991 national championship team.

Can anyone say aloha?

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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