JOHN ESTES
position · center
key stat · started all 14 games at right guard as a freshman last season

65 Hercules Satele	78 Keoni Steinhoff	62 Keith AhSoon

COMPARISONS

Where to begin … Six Hawaii offensive linemen have been drafted in June Jones’ eight years as coach: Adrian Klemm, Kaulana Noa, Kynan Forney, Vince Manuwai, Wayne Hunter and Samson Satele. The best all-around unit may have been last year’s, featuring Satele at center. The greatest individual offensive lineman at UH? Quite possibly Jesse Sapolu. He earned All-WAC notice three times, including first team as a sophomore. His pro career was even more impressive, as he is one of a select group of players to be on four Super Bowl winning teams. Joe Onosai, Amosa Amosa and Leo Goeas were the cornerstones of Rainbow lines in the mid and late 1980s.

POSITIVES

After just one season, Jones is touting John Estes as one of the best linemen to ever play for him. He started all 14 games at right guard last year and is moving to center this fall as a sophomore, replacing second-round NFL Draft choice Satele. Estes is noted for his athleticism (especially his balance), intelligence and toughness. He has good bloodlines as a relative of former Detroit Lions tackle Rockne Freitas.

Left guard Hercules Satele led the way on many of Nate Ilaoa’s long runs last year with key blocks at the point of attack. Satele emerged as a leader this summer, organizing the linemen’s voluntary workouts. He is quiet by nature, but commands respect.

Estes and Satele are both durable. They shrugged off injuries last year and played every down while the outcomes had yet to be decided.

Although the other three tentative starters - right tackle Keoni Steinhoff, right guard Larry Sauafea and left tackle Keith Ah-Soon - are all new in that role, all played quite a few downs last year since most of UH’s games were blowouts. If any of these three should falter or an injury besets the first five, there are several backups who may be just as good or better.

NEGATIVES

Besides Estes and Satele, this line lacks starting experience. Replacing three starters is a challenging task, especially when all three earn their way into NFL camps. Steinhoff, Sauafea and Ah-Soon have yet to be proven in pressure situations. Although Estes and Satele both possess strong leadership qualities and the respect of teammates, they are quiet by nature. Estes will be charged with making the line calls for the first time. He was an all-state center in high school, so the transition shouldn’t be too difficult - but the fact remains that UH returns just one starter at the same position as last season on the offensive line.

DENNIS MCKNIGHT / OFFENSIVE LINE COACH

“John Estes and Herc (Satele) the two starters that do return, to me, are all-conference players. They’re dominant, they’re smart, they’re tough, they’re physical. We’re going to be OK (on the rest of the line) but we’ve got a lot of work to do. But they’re fighters, they’re scrappers, and I like what I see so far.”