Building walls is all the hype right now. From the White House to Mike Locksley's twitter page:
Coaches love the phrase that they're going to "build a fence" or "build a wall" around the state when they get into a new coaching job. I remember Rutgers whining a few years ago to "Fence in the Garden" after letting tons of talent walk out of this God forsaken state. This was right around the time that Michigan took both #2 recruit Jabrill Peppers and #1 recruit Rashan Gary in their respective recruiting classes from Paramus Catholic in Paramus, NJ. Leaving New Jersey I can understand, but what about the states that don't make any sense to leave?
Let's take Hawaii for example. In two of the last four years their has been a Heisman Finalist from the Aloha State. One was runner up and the other one took the hardware home. I'm talking of course of Marcus Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa. But the buck doesn't stop there. Manti Te'o was also a Heisman finalist in 2012 for the Irish. Max Unger, 3x Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl Champion, born where? Oh right, Hawaii. DeForest Buckner, 7th Overall pick and PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Ka'imi Fairbairn, led my Fantasy Team to a chip this year by being the number one kicker. David Amerson, First Team All-American, First Team All-ACC. Ok, maybe that last player was just born there and moved to North Carolina but you get the point. Bring that man home!
The cons. All things taken into account there miiight be some reasons they leave, so for argument's sake here they are. Best case scenario they play in Pacific Time and only are two hours behind. Worst case scenario they play on the east coast and are five hours behind. Not to mention they play in the Mountain West Conference which might not be ideal if you're trying to showcase your NFL potential.
The pros:
Fences historically don't work out in Hawaii
Granted, but think of all the fun we could have. Let's stop saying Aloha (goodbye form) to the talent in Hawaii and start keeping kids in-island. On-island? Whatever, in-house. Keep Heisman finalists drinking Mai Tais and doing that cool Haka thing. Go Rainbow Warriors!
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