Hawaii Grown

Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton, who will attempt to lead the Knights to a perfect 12-0 record with a win over Memphis on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference championship game, was named the conference’s offensive player of the year today. The 2016 Mililani alum was a no-brainer pick for the conference’s top offensive honor, joining current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles as the only UCF players to win the award. Milton has accounted for 36 touchdowns in 11 games, […]

The Walter Camp Award — given to the best college football player in the country, regardless of position — released its 15 semifinalists on Wednesday. Two players from Hawaii made the cut. Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton, a 2016 Mililani alumnus, and Washington State defensive end Hercules Mata’afa, a 2014 Lahainaluna graduate, are still alive for the award, which will announce its five finalists on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The winner will be announced Thursday, Dec. 7. The final 15 selections include six […]

Justice Sueing, a 6-foot-7 forward, is averaging 13 points and 4.5 rebounds per game after two contests as a freshman with the Cal Bears. Sueing played in high school at Marynoll before transferring to Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) to finish out his career. He is the son of former Hawaii star Justice Sueing, who played for Rainbows in the mid-1990s. Sueing scored 14 points with five rebounds, an assist and three steals in a 74-64 loss to UC Riverside […]

In his first two career starts at Ole Miss, junior quarterback Jordan Ta’amu has done something no other Rebel has ever done. The 2015 Pearl City alumnus threw for a career-high 382 yards and four touchdowns, and hit D.K. Metcalf for the game-winning 7-yard TD throw with 5 seconds remaining to lift the Rebels to a 37-34 win over host Kentucky on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington. Ta’amu completed eight of nine passes on the game-winning drive and finished […]

Oregon State senior Manase Hungalu, who was featured in last week’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser Hawaii Grown Report, was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week today. Hungalu, a 6-foot-1, 238-pound inside linebacker from Kealakehe, recorded a career-high 20 tackles in a 37-23 loss to California on Saturday. The 20 tackles in a game are the fourth-most in an NCAA FBS game this year and the fourth-most by a Beavers player in school history. His 13 solo tackles are also the […]

Central Florida sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton is one of 18 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, given to the college football player of the year, announced Monday. Milton, a 2016 Mililani alumnus, leads the nation with a 72.9 completion percentage, a passing efficiency of 199.7 and 11.28 passing yards per attempt. He’s also 14th in the country in both passing touchdowns (19) and total offense (321.6 yards per game). Milton is the only player from the American Athletic Conference named a […]