Halahuni chose not to pass on football

Beavers not surprised by tight end’s breakout performance vs. USC

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Oct 29, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

L.E. BASKOW / TRIBUNE PHOTO

Oregon State tight end Joe Halahuni (left) takes a would-be Cincinnati tackler, Andre Revels, along for a ride in their Sept. 19 game at Reser Stadium.

Oregon State’s coaches and fans are grateful to have the services of Joe Halahuni – especially after the sophomore tight end’s breakout performance against Southern Cal last Saturday.

But nobody is more grateful to be at OSU than Halahuni, who could very easily be working construction in Alaska instead of playing college football.

After choosing Oregon State over Utah out of Orting (Wash.) High in 2006, Halahuni found himself academically ineligible to enroll at OSU that fall.

“I didn’t like it at all,” says Halahuni, who could be a major weapon for the Beavers Saturday in their 1 p.m. game against UCLA at Reser Stadium. “It was a tough time for me. I didn’t know if I wanted to go to school anymore.”

For a while, Halahuni considered joining his father’s construction business in Alaska.

“But I talked a lot with my mom, my coaches and my pastor,” Halahuni says. “I came to the realization I’d be passing on a great opportunity not a lot of people get.”

Halahuni passed his retake of the ACT in the fall and enrolled at Oregon State that winter as a grayshirt. A strong-as-an-ox 6-2, 230-pound safety and receiver at Orting, OSU coaches projected him as a tight end/H-back.

The second week of spring ball, though, Halahuni – by now 250 pounds – suffered an ACL injury to his left knee.

“A setback,” he says, “but probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It taught me a lot about football and about life. It helped me learn to work harder altogether.”

After a long rehab, Halahuni missed the first three games last season, his redshirt freshman campaign. By that time, he was running as the fifth-team tight end behind John Reese, Howard Croom, Brady Camp and Gabe Miller, “but I never got discouraged. I didn’t even think about it.”

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit