Hawaii football receiver John Ursua is quadrilingual.
Hawaii football receiver John Ursua is quadrilingual.
In addition to English, Ursua learned Hawaiian while attending an immersion school from kindergarten through seventh grade, and he shared his faith in French during a two-year church mission in Paris. Ursua and quarterback Dru Brown also have their own dialect.
“We speak: ‘You throw, I catch,’” Ursua said. “We speak that language.”
Their bond translated into 12 completions for 272 yards in the season-opening 38-35 road victory over Massachusetts on Saturday. Ursua emerged as Brown’s favorite target. In Brown’s 11 UH starts, Ursua was the intended receiver 75 times. Against UMass, Ursua caught 85.7 percent of the passes thrown in his direction.
Through reps in practices and player-run sessions, Brown and Ursua have developed joint instincts that are part ESP, part ESPN highlights.
“John is definitely a guy you throw to a spot and expect him to be there,” Brown said.
Brown said Ursua is mindful that distributions are based on coverages and game flow. Some weeks Ursua will get the majority of throws, sometimes they will go to slotback Dylan Collie, tight end Metuisela ‘Unga, or wideouts Keelan Ewaliko, Ammon Barker and Marcus Armstrong-Brown.
“Whether he’s 12 for almost 300 yards or three for 30, you’re going to get the same mentality from John every week,” Brown said. “He understands some weeks are going to be his, some weeks they’re going to be others’. As long as we win, that’s what it’s all about.”
Ursua has worked on his focus and post-catch moves. In 2016, Ursua tied for the team lead with nine drops, with a few coming when he was in the clear. “Those open ones are tougher to catch,” Ursua said. “That’s something I really tried to work on this offseason. I was working on the JUGS, making sure I was looking the ball all the way in.”
As for his elusiveness, he joked, “I watched Michael Jackson films. No, I study the game. I try to master my craft. I watch a lot of (videos of) OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.) and Reggie Bush in his USC days. I try to simulate those moves.”
Ursua honed good study habits at several stages of his life. After speaking only Hawaiian during Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino classes, he admittedly struggled with English when he began attending Kealakehe in the eighth grade. “I was way behind,” he said. “I didn’t know grammar rules. I could speak (English), obviously, just because of the home and friends. That was a huge adjustment.”
Early in his mission in Paris, he knew only simple phrases in French. “That was probably the scariest moments that I had, when I had to approach them and be like, ‘hey, how’s it going,’ in their language,” Ursua recalled.
Each morning, he spent an hour studying French. He found it helpful to constantly write down phrases. In his room, there were notes posted with the French word for each object. He eventually became fluent. After a few months, he would dream in French.
In learning a language, as in his football preparation, “It’s important to study,” Ursua said.