We’re minutes away from official signing of life-altering paperwork that will impact the lives of dozens of athletes, including football players, at this morning’s PIAA Letter of Intent signing event at the Sheraton Waikiki.
This is the first time I have a smart phone (instead of a flip phone) at this annual ceremony and it is awesome. This is unofficially the happiest place in the world for the next few minutes. Almost everybody is smiling.
Marcus Mariota is here. He seems calm, focused. Intelligent. He would probably make a pretty good quarterback in the big time one day. But seriously, the former Saint Louis and Oregon standout had a quick message: enjoy the day and always represent Hawaii well. He also thanked PIAA and the staff led by Doris Sullivan.
“I wouldn’t be here today without them,” he said.
UPDATE: Vavae Malepeai, Mililani’s prolific running back, has donned a USC hat before he signs. WOH.
Punahou RB Wayne Taulapapa signed with Virginia. He said he’ll be the first island player to suit up for the Cavaliers.
Saint Louis scored big. Drew Kobayashi (Cal), Nate Herbig (Stanford) and Jordan Loveni Iosefa (USC) are heading to the Pac-12.
UPDATE #2
A lot of photos to load later. For now, some post-signing moments.
Francesca Weems has invigorated the room. Great and sage advice for the young men and women.
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