watched

Like so many other boys his age on the islands, he watched Marcus Mariota at Oregon and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama with a sense of awe and wonder.

He watched as the whole of Hawaii seemed to galvanize around them and boys emulated them, promising their friends they would be the next Marcus or Tua someday.

Now that shy Samoan boy who watched Marcus and Tua captivate the Samoan community is poised to step into a place of similar cultural significance.

But that one season at Sierra Vista, he watched Maiava assert himself in a way he never had before.

But for those who have watched his progress firsthand, it’s hard not to imagine what it would mean for a Samoan quarterback to become a star at USC.