Padello carries on in brother’s absence

Hawaii football camp is important, no doubt. Jobs must be won, knowledge must be attained, discipline instilled for the battles to come.

But some things take priority over that. On the eastern flank of the Big Island, Fissure 8 is pumping out lava unabated in a seismic event that has claimed more than 700 homes. The effects of that have been far-reaching, including to UH Manoa Lower Campus, and Cooke Field, specifically.

KK Padello, a UH senior defensive lineman, is a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and has been absent for all of camp so far. He was dispatched to the flow area to help safeguard the public, and has remained there. The early days of the flow have stretched into weeks and months.

His younger brother, junior defensive end Kaimana Padello, has plowed ahead at camp while mindful of his brother’s duty.

“He’s been helping stop looters, patrol the lava area, make sure there’s nobody there,” Kaimana Padello said this week. “Shoot, I know he misses (it here). But he loves serving over there because we lived over there … about six, almost seven years.

“He enjoys the opportunity to help others in need, and (in) someplace we love,” Kaimana Padello said. “We lived in Waimea, by Mauna Kea. But we know that area, kind of. He’s exploring more Big Island than what we were used to. We were kind of younger, elementary days, almost middle school. For him, now that he’s older, he gets to experience it.”

Their family later moved to Pearl City, then Mililani. Both brothers graduated from Mililani High School. They keep in touch, although that is admittedly inconsistent with the spotty cell service that KK gets out in the lava fields. They are busy with their respective tasks.

The Padellos are one of three sets of brothers on the team, along with the Bordens (Kamuela and Noah) and the Tavais (Jahlani and Justus).

Kaimana recorded a sack (resulting in a safety at UCLA) and 10 overall tackles last season, while KK was a member of the scout team, picking up the Hank Vasconcellos Defensive Scout Team Award. Now the younger Padello is making a push for a consistent job amid a drastically different set of teammates and position coaches.

“The competition has been great,” Kaimana said. “We got some JUCO guys coming in. We had a lot of guys leave from last year, Meffy (Koloamatangi), David Manoa, so we have some big shoes to fill coming into this year. The whole thing is impress the new coaches, the new staff. … They’re just trying to see who’s ready to play. I think all the guys have been bringing it.”

The defense has changed significantly.

“We’re moving D-ends, linebackers down to the line, shifting people over anywhere on the field,” said Padello, who in build (6-0, 215) is a natural roamer. “So it’s not, ‘you’re just a D-end.’ You’re a D-end/linebacker. You’re dropping back, rushing, dropping to the flats. It’s a very dynamic defense now.”

He’s confident in his own knowledge of the schemes and his own role, but realizes that alone is not enough.

“I want to know who’s behind me. So, I talked to Isaac Sapoaga about it, and he says when you understand a defense, when you know where everybody’s going, that’s when you can elevate your game,” Kaimana Padello said. “Because if somebody is going here” — he pointed to a spot on Cooke Field — “and there’s an open gap, and you know about it and nobody’s going there, you can use that in your pass rush game. You kind of know where to fit, what techniques to use. And, I have the defense down for the most part. What I need to do, but I’m not sure what the linebacker behind me has to do, I’m not sure the nose guard, the tackle needs to do. So just understand where the guys around me is going, so I can help better myself to help them and help myself as well.”

And perhaps when his brother returns from duty, he can help him get up to speed, too.