Hawaii Grown

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa underwent surgery on his injured hip Monday and is expected to make a full recovery according to Alabama team physician Dr. Lyle Cain. The team released a statement from Cain on Monday. “Tua underwent successful surgery on his right hip Monday morning in Houston. The procedure went as planned, and he is resting comfortably. Tua’s prognosis is excellent, and we expect him to make a full recovery. He will return to Tuscaloosa in the next several […]

For the second year in a row, a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback from Hawaii has suffered a career-threatening injury. Alabama junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who just had surgery on an injured ankle a couple of weeks ago, was injured late in the first half of Saturday’s 38-7 win over Mississippi State. Last year, Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton suffered a life-threatening knee injury that he is robustly trying to recover from. According to news reports, Tagovailoa injured his hip […]

Imagine rushing for 260 yards and three TDs in a state championship game. Wayne Taulapapa did that in 2014. Now imagine that you fumble in that same game, ending your team’s last chance at a comeback in an eight-point loss. Taulapapa can check off that box, too. But it has made him a better man. After rushing for 3,279 yards and 52 touchdowns in three years as a Punahou starting running back, Taulapapa went on a two-year church mission in […]

Eleven days after suffering a high-ankle sprain against Tennessee, Alabama junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to return to the practice field. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban told reporters Monday at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in downtown Birmingham he thinks Wednesday is probably the first day the Saint Louis alumnus and 2016 Star-Advertiser offensive player of the year will be back on the field. The second-ranked Crimson Tide have a bye week before next Saturday’s showdown with No. 1 […]

Junior running back Vavae Malepeai is doing everything he can to get back into the USC backfield. The former Mililani star who is second on the all-time Hawaii high school rushing list had arthroscopic surgery on his knee last week. “It’s kind of a week-to-week process,” Malepeai said by phone from Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. “I’m focusing on rehabbing and getting back on the field.” The Trojans (4-3, 3-1 Pac-12) have five regular-season games remaining. Malepeai played in the […]

Utah senior defensive end Bradlee Anae, a 2016 Kahuku alumnus, was named both the Pac-12 defensive lineman and defensive player of the week on Monday. Anae, who is 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds and was named to the All-Pac-12 first team as a junior, won his first defensive player of the week award after carving up Arizona State’s offensive line with three sacks and a pass breakup in a 21-3 victory on Saturday night. Anae currently ranks second in the Pac-12 […]

Alabama junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa underwent surgery today on his injured ankle suffered in Saturday’s 35-13 win over Tennessee. The 2017 Saint Louis alumnus and Heisman Trophy finalist from a year ago was hurt on a sack from behind in the second quarter. He suffered a high-ankle sprain and did not return to the game. In a statement released to the media today, Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “Tua Tagovailoa suffered a high-ankle sprain last night against Tennessee. Our physicians […]