Kaulana Apelu never dreamed of playing football at Oregon. The sophomore from Aiea, Hawaii, always thought the program was too big for him.
Oregon’s flashy uniforms and team speed intimidated Apelu and he didn’t believe he was good enough.
“Oregon was never on my radar. It was too big of a stage for me,” Apelu said.
Now, he is a starting linebacker for Oregon, and his role on the defense will grow due to injuries of other linebackers.
After his sophomore year of high school, Apelu had Division I scholarship ambitions as a running back. But in the first game of his junior season, he tore his right ACL and meniscus. One year later, he tore his left ACL and meniscus, and his high school football career came to an end.
“I felt it snap, and I was like, ‘Something is definitely wrong,’ ” Apelu said.
Oregon football coaches, however, were still intrigued by his talent.
Little game tape of Apelu playing in high school was available to Oregon coaches because he didn’t play very much due to injury. They noticed him while scouting other players on Apelu’s team, and he was always healthy come spring practice, so when Oregon coaches came to watch, he stood out.
Erik Chinander, former Oregon outside linebacker coach and current University of Central Florida defensive coordinator, saw the potential in Apelu.
“I only saw him practice in spring football, and every spring I was like, ‘Who the hell is that guy?’ ” Chinander told 247Sports.com in 2015. “He kept making plays and standing out.”
Chinander called Apelu to tell him he wanted him on the Oregon team, but not on scholarship. The coaches did not forecast a position for Apelu, but they trusted his work ethic.
“I mean, how cool would it be to come to Oregon,” Apelu recalled. “[Marcus Mariota] just won the Heisman. I thought, ‘This is sick — maybe I’ll give it a shot.’ ”
Apelu did not receive offers from other programs. His dream of a scholarship offer did not materialize, but he had an opportunity to play at a major program. He was not going to let it go to waste.
Apelu joined the team as a preferred walk-on in fall 2015.
“Looking at it now, maybe it was a blessing in disguise,” he said.
Oregon linebacker Kaulana Apelu (39) moves upfield during a play. The Oregon Ducks host the Stanford Cardinal at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)
Upon arriving at Oregon last season, Apelu learned he would convert from running back to linebacker when fall camp began. He hadn’t played linebacker since youth football league.
“The learning curve for [Apelu] was learning the defense. He had been a tremendous running back,” Oregon linebackers coach Don Pellum said. “He was a great player and he just needed an opportunity. We had an opportunity.”
Apelu expected to redshirt during his freshman season, but he worked hard on special teams and earned some playing time. He appeared in all 13 games last season and made three unassisted stops.
Head coach Mark Helfrich said, “He’s a relentless kid to get the ball,” and that his heart and hustle is what gets him playing time.
“He fights his ass off,” fellow linebacker Troy Dye said. “As a walk-on, you’ve got to fight and that is what he does. … I trust the guy because I know he is going to put in on the line.”
Apelu has appeared in seven games this season. He had his best game in a close loss to Cal on Oct. 21, when he made a career-high nine tackles. He made his first start the following week against Arizona State.
At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, Apelu is smaller than the average linebacker. He makes up for his size by spending time in the film room learning the upcoming opponent’s strengths, weaknesses and tendencies, so come Saturdays, he will position himself in the right spots.
His time studying paid off when he recorded his first career interception against Arizona State.
The play looked like it was going to be a screen to the running back, so Apelu stepped in that direction. The defensive ends put pressure on the quarterback and he released it early. Apelu was in the right spot and snagged it.
Apelu’s strength is his quickness. He has a quick first step, so he often beats opposing players to the spot where he needs to be. But sometimes he gets ahead of himself. Apelu loves to run and hit opposing players, but has struggled at times to wrap them up and bring them to the ground.
“His biggest strength can be his biggest weakness in terms of trying to do too much,” Helfrich said. “He’ll overshoot things.”
If bringing too much energy to a game is a problem, it is one coaches will live with.
“If a guy loves football, it’s him. He brings a lot of juice in everything that we are doing,” defensive coordinator Brady Hoke said.
After two surgeries humbled him, Apelu learned to make the most of every opportunity. He learned to value the little things like walking to the kitchen and the shower.
“Just appreciate walking, having a leg. … I could say how bad it was, but all in all I feel like those things happen for a reason,” Apelu said.
It turns out that Oregon isn’t too fast for him. He’s brought exactly what the Ducks expected.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917
