Linebacker Bam Amina, who played at Bishop Gorman last season as a junior after transferring from Kapolei, will return home for his senior season to play for the Mililani Trojans.
Amina, a 6-foot, 205-pound three-star recruit according to 247Sports, has offers from 19 schools including 10 D-I offers: San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State, Army, Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, San Jose State, New Mexico and Navy.
“After being blessed with the offers that I was able to have, I just wanted to be able to play in front of my family and have the opportunity to play out here one more year,” Amina said in a phone interview Tuesday. “Once I go to college, it’s going to be a lot of away time and I already had one year away. To be able to have that opportunity to play at home again is great.”
That assumes Amina is going away for college. He said he hasn’t been offered by Hawaii but has been in contact with the coaching staff. Could it change his recruitment?
“This is my home town and I wouldn’t like anything more than to get an offer from my home state,” Amina said.
Amina joins a loaded linebacker group at Mililani with senior Muelu Iosefa, who has committed to California, and juniors Wynden Hoohuli, a Saint Louis transfer who has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Hawaii, Nebraska, Utah and Southern California, and Kapolei transfer Sonny Semeatu, who has an offer from Hawaii.
The Trojans, ranked No. 4 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser preseason Top 10, play a loaded schedule hosting St. John Bosco (Calif.) and Liberty (Nev.) in addition to a full Open Division slate in the OIA-ILH football alliance.
Amina, who played against Mater Dei (Calif.), Centennial (Ariz.), De La Salle (Calif.) and Orem (Utah) during his one season with the Gaels, said the schedule was another reason he came back to play for the Trojans.
“I knew (Mililani) was still going to challenge good competition,” Amina said. “It’s not like I’m going to come home and only play teams from the islands.”
Attending Mililani will also allow Amina to get into an academic program that will allow him to graduate in December and enroll early at whatever college he chooses.
“They weren’t allowing me to graduate early at Gorman,” Amina said. “It’s kind of against their rules I guess. They’d rather their students finish out the year.”
Amina didn’t make the trip to Samoa that a bunch of the Trojans took last week, but has been practicing at Mililani and is raring to go. The Trojans open their season against Campbell on Aug. 9.
“There’s nothing like playing football in Hawaii,” Amina said. “Playing at home is way different than playing on the mainland.”
Good, good to see any school attract and recruit talent like that so St Lulu doesn’t make a mockery of Hawaii state high school football. I want to the state championship to be no clear cut favorite when the teams kick off. I cheer for anybody but St Lulu.
At least he didn’t go to Iolani or St. Louis.
All 4 backers are alumni of Ewa Beach Sabers youth football including the starting running back and some linemen’s. They are all over the state playing for different teams past and future. On the other hand Laie Park is also the same. They’ve been going at it for years and they get each other better. I know many of those kids also are playing all over the state and mainland also. Name a kid that’s ballin, most likely they came from the JPS league is what I mean.
JPS is where all the real ballers come from! Not like the other patty cake leagues
Does JPS have weight restrictions like the other patty cake leagues??
Also isnt it the same JPS league that supports all this rampant recruiting of the OIA?
Particularly one team that shall go unmentioned, achoootrojans, scuse me, must be the dust.
@HLI
It’s about time OIA Open teams start recruiting! How else are they supposed to keep up with STL who recruits almost every Island. AchoooLol.
I love it. Now they have no excuses.
Btw, theyve been recruiting for years now. Plucking kids out of district resulting in some smaller programs struggling to field Jv teams.
I guess the real question, with all these transfers going into Millville there still is a piece missing. Who replaces Gabriel? What transfer/recruit did yall bring in?
Interesting enough how everyone voice their opinion. JPS is good for the youth to grow and get better.
It’s a matter of choice to where a student wants to play. Yes , schools that recommend to kids to play for them is up to the individual.
Crusaders, Trojans, Buffs, Red Raiders are no different from reaching out ..
Mind you JPS started as a Crusader, coaches at the mill and Red Raiders are alumni Crusaders..
🔴🔵
@HLI Mililani Doesn’t Need A Transfer To Play QB They Have Homegrown Talent In Brendyn Agbayani. Everybody says Mililani recruits this recruits that. YORK IS THE COACH TO PLAY FOR IN THE OIA!!! If you not in the ILH. Kahuku was like that for years so was Waianae
Parents will take their kids wherever they think that they would have a better chance to get recruited or offered from the next level. That’s the only recruit we should be talking about. It’s perfect that JPS doesn’t have weight limit, because in High school there is no such thing. Get them ready to face reality when it’s in front of them. I wanna eat at the most expensive restaurant but I ain’t got that kinda money, so I’m a go eat at the next best restaurant that I can afford. Now let’s EAT.
Mililani has two brothers (Kalama’s) that live next to me, in Halawa…no tell me they no need recruit!
He didn’t go to StL because he’d be warming the bench.
The JPS league has a good concept behind it with the no weight limit, but they’re so unorganized. Plenty people in the past used to complain a lot about schedules and a lot of stuff. Seems like Robert falefine backs Mililani a lot don’t know any other school who gets to rep the JPS logo on their jerseys, and it’s funny how the OIA allows it. Something smells fishy to me hmmmm…
@Henry Brendyn Agbayani is not from Mililani (Homegrown) your FUNNY …. #96701 zip code
Being a good coach is what makes kids want to play for a team. If you dont got a good coach and want to be coached up, why would you go to a school and play for that? Again Good coaching attracts the attention, and thats what Coach York is doing there. Kids want to play for him and why not? People think that York is literally going out and asking kids to play for him lol. Ill tell you the truth, that is not the case at all. The players are coming to him and wanting to play for him, and as long as everything is done legally, nobody can say a word. My point is , Coach York being a good coach attracts all these kids, its not his fault that they want to play for him instead of someone else. Mililani will be good this year, but i still dont think that they will be good enough to beat those crusaders. Just my opinion
Henry is right about Agbayani! The Dad who is Brendyn also is from Aiea. Brendyn and his wife( Maa Tanuvasa sister) lives in Mililani unless they moved out of Mililani. Another thing was JPS was started by a Crusader. Yes a CRUSADER is part of the JPS higher ups but before it was JPS it was jus a big boys league. As for the Kalama boys, not sure where live but they played at Campbell last year. JPS President Robert Faleafine supports Mililani because his VP or second hand guy is Stili Malepeai that coaches at Mililani and Rod York runs the flag division for the small kids and has games at MilianiHigh School! Back to Henry- Everybody else on the starting Defense and majority on Offense are kids from outside Mililani district. Why did Mililani win it all in 2014? because majority of the kids were from out of district. Anyways I’m for the kids playing at wherever they think will help them get better and hopefully receive a football scholarship so parents don’t have to struggle to pay for tuition. I Would send my son to Mililani and I’m in the district but they lost lots of good coaches,that left for whatever reasons. Hard to find good assistant coaches these days that know what they talking about. Maybe that’s why Mililani will get to the title game but not win it. Adjustments! Good luck to all schools this upcoming football season! 808vsEverybody!
O0-
All of the youth leagues are good for the players to grow and get better not just the “hamma” JPS.
Recruit away, that is the only way anyone is going to beat the Saints. (I am not a saints fan)
Hank Walter-
Ok, that clears it up Agbayani at QB.
BTW, who is his back-up?
May as well just get rid of the district boundaries, cannot enforce it anyways.
Whole bunch of bulaia going on with families addresses and such.
Just put this rule into effect.
– Any transfer must sit out a year. Period.
@Education First
Das what you think He would Smash all crusaders LB’s