Navy. Army. Idaho.
Step by step, the future is expanding for Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen. The Punahou junior has been assertive, reaching out to college coaches and the rewards of reciprocity are in play. Idaho offered him a scholarship on Thursday afternoon. Army’s offer arrived last week. Navy offered first.
“I actually texted Coach (Billy Ray) Stutzmann on Twitter and we’ve kept in touch,” said Mendiola-Jensen, a defensive back. “When he told me I received an offer to the Naval Academy, it was a big surprise. I wasn’t really expecting it at that time. We’d been talking for awhile, but I didn’t have a feeling that it was going to happen. I was surprised and thankful.”
Army, via former Moanalua coach Sean Saturnio, was second.
“I reached out to Coach Sean. Same thing. We talked story. We eventually talked every day. He sent me motivational videos,” Mendiola-Jensen said.
Idaho has hit the islands with a few offers recently.
"I talked with Coach Charley Molnar," he said. "It definitely gives me another opportunity for later in life, for whatever path I decide to take."
“I’ve been talking to Timmy Chang of Nevada. Hawaii and the safeties coach. Sacramento State. Also been talking to Eastern Washington,” he said.
“I’ve been talking to Timmy Chang of Nevada. Hawaii and the safeties coach. Sacramento State. Also been talking to Eastern Washington,” he said.
At 6 feet, 2 inches, Mendiola-Jensen provides a viewpoint from the secondary that few high school safeties have.
“I weighed around 150, 153-ish (last season. I want to gain as much weight as I can while keeping my speed,” he said. “I’m at 155 now.”
He chugs chocolate Serious Mass protein shakes.
Players across the islands have been scratching for a way to work out. Mendiola-Jensen has space at his home.
“I live in a townhouse, so there’s choke grass. I run hills and do footwork drills on the grass. Monday, Wednesday, Friday I head to Sports Medicine Hawaii and do workouts,” he said.
Running on the grass without teammates isn’t so bad.
“Working out alone, it’s a relief. You get to choose what you want to work on and perfect. There’s no distractions and it sets the tone for how you win the day. My workouts are hour to hour-and-a-half. I do footwork and then conditioning,” Mendiola-Jensen said.
He also enjoys the simple joy of hanging out with sister Makamae, 12. She’s a rodeo competitor, but like everything else in the sports world, practices and events are on hold.
“I’ve been playing outside with my little sister. We play volleyball, ride our scooters or play with a roping dummy. We kind of grew up doing this on our mom’s side out at Makaha, every so often at the ranch with my uncle,” Mendiola-Jensen said. “I always wanted to try competing in the rodeos just for fun, but I never could because of football.”
Punahou’s renowned defensive unit will take a major hit from graduation. The standard, though, remains golden.
“Even though we lose players, we’ll still be good. We got great relationships with our teammates, and great coaching. The more we do that, the stronger we’ll be,” he said. “That’s our goal at the end of the year. We want state. We’ve got to get past them and the other teams in the league so we have to take it game by game.”
Top 3 lockdown TV shows/movies
1. The Last Samurai
2. Scooby-Doo series
3. Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles (original)
Top 3 lockdown food/snacks
1. Breakfast: bacon, eggs (over easy), cheese, mayonnaise in a croissant. I make this at home.
2. Oranges
3. Leftovers from the night before. My mom (Hoku) does the cooking. She makes good chili.
4. Chocolate chip cookies. We get the cookie dough and throw it in the toaster oven.
Top 3 lockdown music artists
1. Luke Combs
2. Ookla The Moc
3. Florida Georgia Line
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