8 UNLV Rebels going home for football game at Hawaii

Adam Sandler has nothing on UNLV defensive tackle Salanoa-Alo Wily.

While the actor portrayed a water-boy-turned-football-player in the movie “The Waterboy,” Wily followed that path in real life growing up in Oahu, Hawaii, where as a middle schooler he helped keep the football players at Kahuku High School hydrated.

In Saturday’s game against Hawaii at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium, the Rebels starter will line up directly across from one of those players in Rainbow Warriors right guard John Wa’a.

“I’m really excited. This is probably going to be one of the most interesting games,” Wily said. “I’m going head to head against someone I used to be a water boy for.”

Wily, a 275-pound sophomore, is one of eight former Hawaii high school players on the Rebels’ roster. Perhaps none of them is as fired up for the game as senior starting linebacker Tau Lotulelei, a Maui High graduate.

“I’m very excited, especially my last year as a senior, to play in Hawaii,” Lotulelei said. “It’s like a different mindset because I’m going against my home state. My body naturally reacts differently in that game. In all the Hawaii games I’ve played.”

Lotulelei, who leads the team in tackles (54), tackles for loss (6.5) and sacks (1.5), surprisingly wasn’t recruited by Hawaii.

“I was too small,” said the 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pounder. “I’m happy I’m here at UNLV. The biggest thing is being able to play in front of my family against them. It’s my home state, and I just want to show out for my family and friends back home.”

Lotulelei, who followed his older brother John, a former Rebels standout linebacker, to UNLV, is coming off his best game of the season. He made 11 tackles, including three for loss and one-half of a sack, in Saturday’s 26-7 loss at San Diego State.

“Since I’ve been here, that might have been the best performance he’s had from the first play to the last play, consistently playing the whole game,” second-year Rebels coach Tony Sanchez said.

Wily, who has eight tackles, including a sack, this season, orally committed to Hawaii before changing his mind and joining UNLV on signing day as part of Sanchez’s first recruiting class.

“I felt like I needed to leave the island. A lot of kids’ dreams on the island are to get off,” he said. “I really liked coach Sanchez’s vision.”

Shortly after getting hired by UNLV in December 2014, Sanchez and then-defensive line coach Joe Seumalo took a red-eye flight to Hawaii to recruit Wily and defensive back Soli Afalava, his Kahuku High teammate who also signed with the Rebels.

“We were in Hawaii less than 24 hours. We had some work to do,” Sanchez said. “We talked to him and Soli about the new era and what we’re doing here and also the socioeconomic opportunities they’ll have once they’re done playing.”

Sanchez’s pitch persuaded Wily to forgo the chance to play with two friends he considers family at Hawaii: Wa’a and Rainbow Warriors linebacker Rashaan Falemalu.

“We’re brothers,” he said. “We’ve all got the same tattoo.”

Wily has the Samoan word for brotherhood, “Usoga,” tattooed on his arm, and Wa’a has the Tongan word for brotherhood, “Tokoua,” inscribed on his.

“Because we had Tongan friends and Samoan friends,” Wily said. “We’re all really close. He’s like an older brother to me.”

Lotulelei also described a family atmosphere among the Polynesian players in Las Vegas — fondly referred to as “the ninth island” by Hawaiians for the hundreds of thousands of them who annually visit and/or have moved to the city.

“We’re like brothers over here. We pretty much do everything together,” Lotulelei said. “Polynesian is like a brotherhood.”

It will be brother against brother on Saturday, when Wily will try to make Wa’a work for any water he gets.

“It’s always good to be home, but I’m more excited about the game than anything,” Wily said. “We’re ready to make a comeback from last weekend. That’s all I’m worried about right now.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow on Twitter: @tdewey33