By JOE FERRARO Stephens Media ADVERTISING He said it wasn’t his intention to follow in his father’s footsteps. And he claims his good friend and Hawaii Prep alum, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Daniel Teo-Nesheim, didn’t try to persuade him
By JOE FERRARO
Stephens Media
He said it wasn’t his intention to follow in his father’s footsteps. And he claims his good friend and Hawaii Prep alum, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Daniel Teo-Nesheim, didn’t try to persuade him to wear purple and gold.
In the end, Shane Brostek said, he “went with his gut.”
Brostek verbally committed to the University of Washington on Tuesday, informing Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian of his decision at approximately noon.
“It feels great,” Brostek said of his decision. “I’m just thankful.”
“I felt real comfortable there (during a visit), and I felt I could get a real good education.”
Brostek’s father, longtime HPA offensive line coach and 1990 Washington alum Bern Brostek, was happy with his son’s decision.
“I think he’s made a good choice,” Bern Brostek said. “There’s a lot of tradition there.”
Shane Brostek will attend Washington on a full-ride scholarship. He received similar offers from Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii and UCLA, making official visits to each of the five schools that presented offers.
As Brostek mulled over his decision the past three weeks, he trained on the Big Island with Teo-Nesheim, a 2010 Washington graduate and a third-round NFL draft pick.
“We hardly every talked about football,” Brostek said.
Brostek became the third HPA football player to commit to a Pac-12 school in the past eight years. Current Seattle Seahawk and 2004 HPA grad Max Unger played for four years at Oregon.
Brostek will go to Washington along with Kealakehe senior running back Psalm Wooching, who verbally committed to UCLA in the summer before changing his decision in January.
Today is National Signing Day – the first day high school seniors planning on playing football at the next level can make their commitments official.
Brostek, Wooching and two other players with Big Island ties – Kealakehe senior Brock Namuo (Western Oregon) and former Kealakehe player John Ursua (Hawaii) – will sign National Letters of Intent today.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Brostek earned first-team All-Big Island Interscholastic Federation honors as an offensive lineman in each of his past three seasons. He played both center and offensive tackle, displaying versatility and superior downfield blocking skills.
As a sophomore, Brostek helped lead Ka Makani to a BIIF Division II title and a 17-14 win over Moanalua in the first round of the HHSAA Division II state tournament – the victory marked only the second ever for a Big Island team at the state level.
The 6-3, 210-pound Wooching, a bruising running back, helped Kealakehe win its second consecutive BIIF Division I title, rushing for 812 yards and 15 touchdowns on 126 carries in his senior season. He ran for 989 yards as a junior.
Namuo, a first-team All-BIIF cornerback, transferred to Kealakehe from Saint Louis for his senior season, giving the Waveriders one of the island’s best cover corners. He picked off three passes, excelling in a four-game stretch despite playing with a heavy cast on his arm.
Ursua played wide receiver for Kealakehe in 2008 along with his brother, Jordan, helping the Waveriders win a BIIF championship.
Jordan Ursua accepted a full-ride scholarship from Southern Utah in 2008.
After his freshman season, the younger Ursua moved to Utah for the rest of his high school career, playing quarterback for Westlake High as a sophomore and a junior and at Cedar Lake last season.
Ursua’s father, Larry, said his son was ranked sixth on current Hawaii coach Norm Chow’s recruit list.
John Ursua spent the past weekend on Oahu to meet with Chow and the rest of the coaching staff before returning to Cedar Lake, where he’s also a star point guard for the basketball team.
Larry Ursua said Hawaii’s basketball team also presented a scholarship offer to John Ursua.
