As a University of Hawaii football season ticket holder, I had the opportunity to watch Nate play for 4 seasons here in the islands. He came to UH as a WR... and after spending time in the weight room (and evidently enjoying the local cuisine) he bulked up quite a bit. SO... head coach June Jones moved him to RB... and the rest is history!
Here's his stats from his senior year as a Warrior:
131 rushes for 990 yards... 7.6 yard per rush average... and 13 TDs...
67 receptions for 837 yards... 12.5 yards per catch average... and 5 TDs...
He was THE MAN this year... a powerful weapon that balanced the pass-oriented offense that Hawaii runs. We watched him flat out run over guys that were much bigger than him (he's 5'9", 245 lbs.). He's extremely quick, can change directions on a dime, probably has some of the best hands of any RB in college football... and don't be surprised if he doesn't beat out Tony Hunt as the goalline back in Philly.
He got into Coach Jones' doghouse going into his Junior season, because he came to training camp out of shape. He assumed he was "the man" at RB. Coach Jones made him earn his spot back into the starting lineup... and it took a few games until he got back to playing shape. Last summer, he was at school and in the weight room every day. Totally learned his lesson... and was a model athlete his senior season. He has amazing talent... and let's hope he keeps up the work ethic that took him so far this past year.
In case you'd like to see him in action...here's his
Highlight real.
Last year it was Mike Bell... this year, Nate Ilaoa. Welcome to the home of 4th round diamonds, Nate!