Tuipulotu Missed Hawaii

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Kaniela Tuipulotu was successful in two seasons as an Arizona Wildcats football player, but he wasn't satisfied.

In fact, he was homesick.

"I missed just being able to look into the stands and see people I know personally, not just people that like me because I'm a football player," Tuipulotu said Monday. "I missed playing in front of people that I know, people I appreciate. My parents couldn't ever come out and see me play, and that (stunk)."

Wracked by injuries and facing a decreased role in the Wildcats defense, Tuipulotu, 21, is returning to Hawaii.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 300-pound tackle will transfer to the University of Hawaii next month; he'll be eligible to play as a junior in 2010.

Tuipulotu started 19 games in two seasons at the UA, registering 13 tackles and forcing a fumble. But he was beset by injuries that robbed him of playing time, and he never quite found a permanent place in the Wildcats' ever-shuffling defensive line.

"I was comfortable," he said, "but I really never was healthy."

Tuipulotu batted shoulder problems in 2007 and "turf toe," a hyperextension of a joint in the big toe, in 2008. He underwent shoulder surgery this spring and is currently facing an undiagnosed elbow problem.

Tuipulotu is so hurt that he was planning to redshirt at the UA this fall just to get healthy. Instead, he'll join a Hawaii program that is two years removed from a Bowl Championship Series game.

The move to Oahu will put Tuipulotu about an hour's drive from the North Shore town of Kahuku, where he spent his final three years of high school. He'll also be closer to his parents, who live on Maui.

And he'll have a better opportunity to make an impact on the field.

Tuipulotu would have struggled to find playing time this fall, even if healthy. The Wildcats return starters Lolomana Mikaele and Earl Mitchell from last season's team, as well as veteran backup Donald Horton.

Coaches also have stocked the roster with two new defensive tackles: Jonathan Hollins

, a junior college transfer who spurned Tennessee to sign with the UA, and prep star Sione Tuihalamaka

.

Tuipulotu, meanwhile, will get a fresh start in a familiar place.

"I feel it's the right time to go back," he said. "I'm way comfortable there. I pretty much consider it my home."

• The UA added another 2010 recruit on Monday when Oceanside (Calif.) defensive back Jerry Whittaker gave his verbal commitment.

Rivals.com lists Whittaker, a 5-foot-10-inch, 170-pound senior-to-be, as a three-star recruit.