UH football wide receivers step up with standout Ashlock sidelined

News admin August 12, 2026 0 Comments

UH football wide receivers step up with standout Ashlock sidelined

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the University of Hawaiʻi football team continues fall camp, the team is working to fill a void left by one of its star players.

UH opened camp without Pofele Ashlock, a standout wide receiver who had been garnering preseason award attention.

It is unclear how much time Ashlock will miss, but in the meantime, the Rainbow Warriors are looking to their receiving corps to step up.

“You don’t replace a guy like (Ashlock) with the amount of snaps, the amount of reps, and just his production,” head coach Timmy Chang said. “You know those guys have been doing a great job and they’re a group that we lean on heavily because of their work ethic and discipline and who they are.”

Some of the pass catchers in the mix include the Kamoku brothers, Kaikai Carvalho, and Tama Uiliata, who played a key supporting role last season.

“We’re just a group of boys,” Uiliata said. “We just wanna be 11 unit, coming together, just support all the boys.”

“For me being more on the experienced side, just being a leader, helping all the other boys, but you know we got guys that can we got from top to bottom, we got guys that can roll,” Uiliata added.

Uiliata appeared in all 13 games in 2025, amassing 28 receptions for 231 yards. However, he was limited during spring ball while recovering from an injury.

“I mean just stacking days, just coming from an injury, and then just being on the sideline watching the boys get their reps,” Uiliata said. “I’m just on the sideline taking mental reps… I think just taking it day by day, you know, keeping life simple outside of football too really helped me.”

As UH prepares for its season opener against Stanford on Aug. 29, Uiliata and the rest of the receiving corps are ready for any opportunity that comes their way.

“Wherever the coaches need me, it’s just leadership. I’m just trying to be the best person I could be in whatever role the coaches want me to be,” Uiliata said.