Quarterbacks Bryce Kalauokaaea, left, and Kiran Kepo'o. - Photo: Lisa Asato

By Lisa Asato / Ka Wai Ola

Redshirt freshmen Kiran Kepo'o and Bryce Kalauokaaea played against each other in high school. Now they meet up again, vying for a spot on the University of Hawai'i football roster to fill the position formerly held by Colt Brennan.

“Both of us being local, growing up over here, it's everyone's dream to come to the university and become the next quarterback,” Kalauokaaea, a 6 foot-2-inch walk-on from Castle High, says after a two-hour spring practice in which top-contenders Tyler Graunke and Inoki Funaki saw a lot of action.

“There's two more (junior college) recruits coming in the summer, that's hard, too, but we all got a shot at it,” Kalauokaaea says, adding, “Since I'm pretty much the newcomer I gotta pay my dues and do what I gotta do like how all Inoke them paid their dues years ago, and now it's their shot. Gotta be patient.”

For Kepo'o, a scholarship player who missed last season because of a bicycle injury, just being back is sweet. “Being out here with the boys, our teammates and out in the football atmosphere is really good,” says the 'Iolani graduate who grew up in Kailua-Kona. And having gone through the drills last season helps with the learning curve, he says.

“I think this spring I have a better idea of what's going on as far as the terminology, plays and everything. It's a little bit different now that we're 'under the center,' there's lots of adjustments we gotta make as far as footwork goes.”

But new quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich is showing them footwork drills, which helps with the new formation, says Kalauokaaea. His favorite part of spring practice? “When we 'go team,' ” he says with a big smile, referring to the scrimmage-like convergence at the end of practice. “We all like the individual drills 'cause we get more reps, but being out there, the whole team going against each other – the intensity.”

As for the two quarterbacks' first meeting on the gridiron, that came during their senior year in 2006.

“Our defense couldn't stop them,” recalls Kepo'o, whose team went on to win the Division II state title.

But that's not how Kalauokaaea remembers it. “Our highlight my senior year was we beat Kahuku,” he says. “We got our (rear ends) kicked by Kiran though.”