But Dana Coach Jim Krueger didn't recruit 19 Hawaiians to bring more diversity to this small landlocked campus just 20 miles north of Omaha. Rather, Krueger started to tap into Hawaii's pool of talented high school players, who mostly go unnoticed by college coaches on the mainland. Krueger believes the group will help the Vikings win some more games. Then when you consider the kids from Hawaii, it escalates our feeling. We feel we have a couple who can play right away and hopefully make an impact, especially in the W column.
Some coaches recruit Texas, some go to California.
We feel we've gotten a number of good players from Hawaii. The native high school players are competing for a limited number of spots on the Rainbows. The rest don't have the option to attend a small school close to home and still play football. In comparison, the University of Nebraska is the football king in this state, but 11 other colleges offer the sport and all rely mostly on homegrown talent. Freshman Chevas Lamoya, from Volcano, Hawaii, came to the states to continue his post-prep career.