In the early 2000s, University of Hawai‘i linebacker Wynden Ho‘ohuli brought his infant son Wynden to his football games.
“I was born into (UH football),” said Wynden Ho‘ohuli, now a UH defensive end. “Just out of the tummy, I went to games.”
Last Saturday, Wynden’s 1-year-old son Shyztynroyal attended the Rainbow Warriors’ season-opening 35-14 victory over Delaware State.
“Full circle,” said UH head coach Timmy Chang, who was a teammate of Watson Ho‘ohuli.
Wynden said he was the same age as Shyztynroyal when “my dad brought me into the locker room. All his teammates would hang out with me. Every time my son comes out to a practice or game, I’ll bring him into the locker room. He was at the last game, but it was kind of raining, so he couldn’t come on the field. We went into the locker room after the game. He was scared a little bit because he saw all the players with their eye paint. He was kind of iffy, but he came around. He knew they were his ‘uncles.’”
In training camp, Wynden Ho‘ohuli tried to circle back to the time before injuries abbreviated his first two UH seasons; to four years ago when he was a 4-star prospect from Saint Louis School and Mililani High. Back then, he topped recruiting lists.
In a pep talk to the man in the mirror, Ho‘ohuli implored: “I have to bring that player back. How that player was — his mentality, his discipline.”
He also told himself: “setback for a major comeback.”
It meant returning to the good health he enjoyed before transferring from Nebraska after his freshman season.
In the fourth game of the 2022 season, his first as a Warrior, he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. “I was out for the rest of the season,” he said.
Last year, he played in the first seven games, starting against Oregon, before suffering a sports hernia. He underwent surgery, and missed the final six games. He also did not participate in this year’s spring training in January and February.
“Once fall camp came around (in July), Coach Pu‘u kept asking me every day if I was good, how I was feeling,” Ho‘ohuli said of D-end coach Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson. “I was going to (physical therapy), making sure I was banging all that out.”
Ho‘ohuli waded into the rotation. “Wynden is a very good football player with very good instincts,” Pu‘u-Robinson said. “He’s savvy, and he’s really come along. Unfortunately, he’s had so many injuries in his career. It’s really hurt his development, especially in the offseason. But he’s healthy right now, probably as strong and as quick as he’s ever been. He’s playing really well at the moment.”
In 23 snaps against Delaware State, Ho‘ohuli set the edge, defended the flats and sacked elusive quarterback Marqi Adams.
“It was a good feeling,” Ho‘ohuli said of his second career sack. “I just had to play ball. I played ball, got to (Adams), and I was holding on for dear life, making sure he didn’t get away. He had a couple shimmies out of the pocket. He was a pretty shifty guy. I had to make sure I got him down.”
Ho‘ohuli said he finds inspiration from his son, whose name is an amalgamation. Ho‘ohuli said he wanted to name his son, Shyzty. But his fiancee Joslynn suggested Shyzten as a play on Ho‘ohuli’s first name. The second part of Shyztynroyal’s name comes from a cousin (Ryal) and a late aunt (Roelle).
“Because of my son, I play for a bigger purpose,” Ho‘ohuli said. “I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s the one who keeps me grinding every day. I wake up, and I see him next to me. I have a purpose in life to keep doing what I’m doing. That’s why I feel this is the year I can really showcase.”
