Castle’s Kehano Hopes To Fill Toone’s Shoes At Weber State
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usCastle standout Shaydon Kehano’s recruitment came without fanfare - if such a thing is possible in the year 2010. University of Hawaii invited him to walk on, and Nevada, Utah and San Jose also contacted him about doing the same but told Kehano they were out of scholarships.
Enter Utah’s Weber State and head coach Ron McBride, who came into the picture in the so-called 11th hour and found their man in Kehano, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of NFL prospect Tim Toone. If you haven’t heard of Toone, he owns the receiving record at Weber State, a record that may belong to Kehano by 2013, if he has his way.
Kehano is exactly the same height and weight as Toone and will wear the same numeral - 81 - that he wore at Castle.
“Coach told me they needed someone to fill his shoes, and I think I can do it, and even better,” said Kehano, who accepted a full scholarship to Weber State. “I’m a kick-returner, punt-returner and a receiver just like him.”
Weber State runs a spread offense similar to the one Castle has excelled in since the beginning of this decade.
“They throw the ball a lot,” Kehano said, “and I know I can start there. They have a good program, and they win championships. I want to wear a (championship) ring, too.”
While Kehano’s saga is one likely to produce a happy ending, the the recruiting process was a head-scratching experience at times for the family. Kehano had a career at Castle that would be the envy of most kids. The OIA East Red Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 was also a First Team All-Conference selection as a wide receiver and a First Team utility player on the defensive side for the 2009 season. He also made the Second Team defense as a defensive back. Kehano finished the year as the state’s leading scorer (22 touch-downs) and receiver (71 catches, 1,170 yards).
The lack of scholarship offers to Division I schools was hard to take for him and his family, according to Shaydon’s father, Ralph Kehano.
“I feel it (frustration) inside to be honest,” said Ralph. “At one point, he looked pretty down, and I asked him about it. He said, ‘I was the top receiver in the state, and no one’s even looking at me. I don’t know what it takes to get into a DI.’ I told him, ‘You can’t always have everything on a silver platter and that sometimes you just have to go about something in a round-about way and keep on proving yourself.’”
In a way, UH fueled his recruitment by McBride, according to Ralph Kehano, who noted that Warrior offensive coordinator Ron Lee has contacts with the staff at Weber State and told them to “make sure they visit this kid when you come to Hawaii.”
UH made a last-second pitch to get Shaydon to walk on with the Warriors, but couldn’t make any promises about a scholarship for 2011 either, so it was an easy decision to accept the offer from Weber State .
“Coach McBride told him he has a very good chance of starting next year, so we feel really blessed that he came down from Weber State to visit us,” Ralph Kehano said. “Coach met Shaydon at the school, and then he met with me and my wife at Denny’s that night. He was really cool and down to earth.”
Weber State’s schedule for next fall is high-profile, to use the jargon of the day, with games against BCS programs Boston College (Sept. 4, away) and Texas Tech (Nov. 4, away) on the slate. Kehano was one of five players from Hawaii to sign with Weber State. The Wildcats also added Malone Fiso (Kahuku, Laie resident), Kela Marciel (Iolani School, Kailua resident), Veteson Sauni (Kahuku, Laie) and Jiniki Timoteo (Leilehua, Waipahu) to their roster.
As for Kehano, it is now back to work.
“I’ve been working out at 24-Hour Fitness every day,” he said.
As well as putting the recruiting process behind him.
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