San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Worth the wait for Grugier-Hill
Versatile linebacker serving as a ‘bright spot’ amid an otherwise difficult season
Elina Grugier named her son after the hills, the strong trees, the brisk winds breathing in a northern region of Hawaii’s biggest island.
Kamuela Grugier-Hill once thought he’d never leave Hawaii. If it weren’t for a high school teammate’s offhanded recommendation that a college coach also recruit him, perhaps he’d still be there. Perhaps the guy most people call Kamu wouldn’t be a starting linebacker for the Texans, a former state champion volleyball player whose raw talent turned one season of varsity football into a professional career that sprung from unlikely circumstances.
Perhaps Jamie Sharper’s single-game franchise tackle record would still be intact, and the former Texans linebacker wouldn’t have to hear that Grugier-Hill’s 19 tackles in last week’s loss to the Colts passed him up while on a recruiting trip as an assistant coach for Georgetown.
“Records are meant to be broken,” says Sharper, who twice recorded 17 tackles in 2003. “So I’m glad they’ve got a bright spot in their season right here.”
The rebuilding Texans (2-10) are in desperate need of bright spots. Grugier-Hill was one of 31 new players brought in during first-year general manager Nick Caserio’s offseason overhaul. Grugier-Hill signed a oneyear, $3.25 million deal with the former New England executive who once drafted him with a 2016 sixth-round pick, and, after gradually establishing himself in 11 starts, the 27-yearold could be nearing a second contract with the same franchise for the first time in his six-year career.
“He’s made us take notice to him,” defensive coordinator Lovie Smith says.
Truth is, Grugier-Hill almost didn’t leave Hawaii.
He didn’t show up for his signing day ceremony at Kamehameha High School almost a decade ago.
There was a table, a placard that read “Eastern Illinois” and an empty chair.
His mother’s phone blew up. What happened? Where is he? How come he didn’t sign? Elina got on a call with former Panthers coach Dino Babers: Kamu was hesitant to leave home. She’d also never met Babers before and didn’t want to send her son 4,100 miles away for someone she didn’t know. But after gaining trust in an almost twohour conversation, she hung up and made the decision herself.
“We’re leaving next week,” she told Kamu.
The plane landed in St. Louis. They drove over the Mississippi River. The linebacker who never thought he’d leave Hawaii entered the Midwest.
“It was just cornfields,” Elina says. “You know? No mountains. It was so different for him.”
Kamu adapted soon enough. The team arrived days later. He was welcomed quickly by a group of players that hung out with each other frequently because there often was little else to do.
“I can remember when Kamu first got there,” says 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who played at Eastern Illinois from 201013. “He was like, ‘Wow, this is a big city, man!’ We were like, ‘No, you’re in Charleston, Illinois.’ ”
Learning the game
Babers was born in Honolulu. He’s a former University of Hawaii running back who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. So, when Babers had one scholarship left to give and a recruit told him about a high school teammate who was a star volleyball player, he was already sold.
“Before I got to Hawaii, I thought volleyball was kind of a wimpy game,” says Babers, who grew up in San Diego. “But when I saw volleyball played the right way at Hawaii, where people were getting their nose busted and fingers turned sideways and dislocated, I’m like, ‘This is one of the most violent games you can play when it’s played the right way.’ ”
Grugier-Hill’s strength and speed was molded on his home island’s sandy beaches. His grandmother was the youngest of 19 children, so just about every weekend was spent playing aggressive volleyball on the shore with a competitive crowd of family and friends.
That first year at Eastern Illinois revealed just how much Grugier-Hill’s athleticism allowed him to get away with. He was still learning the game in his second true season of playing football.
Gradually, Grugier-Hill developed into an everydown linebacker and was as versatile for Eastern Illinois as he’s been in the NFL. His svelte 6-2, 215pound collegiate frame, which later drew doubts from pro scouts, allowed him to lean into his speed and react swiftly on plays.
‘A special guy’
New England cut Grugier-Hill just before the 2016 season began. Caserio called the rookie into his office and informed him of the move. Grugier-Hill left with the impression that the Patriots were releasing him so they could sign him to their practice squad, but the Eagles claimed him before he could pass through waivers.
Grugier-Hill didn’t play a snap of defense in his first two seasons. He leaned into special teams — the developmental engine for NFL players fighting on the fringe — and played nearly every supportive role as Philadelphia beat his first franchise in Super Bowl LII. He gained a reserve role on the Eagles’ defense in the final two seasons of his rookie deal, but no new contract was signed. A one-year flyer with the Dolphins last season didn’t produce a long-term fit.
Caserio called on the first day of free agency. The Texans’ new GM wanted his sixth-round pick back.
“I truly believe he’s believed in me since Day 1,” Grugier-Hill says. “It’s the reason I’m here right now. The only reason.”
Grugier-Hill is the team’s leading tackler (88), and his penchant for play-recognition has him tied 16th in the league with 10 tackles for loss.
Smith, a two-time head coach and former NFL Coach of the Year, named just two other linebackers — Shelton Quarles (Buccaneers, 1997-2006) and Nick Roach (Bears, 2007-12) — who he’s seen play all three positions effectively.
“It takes a special guy to do that,” Smith says.
Smith said Grugier-Hill didn’t know he’d be playing “Will” linebacker against the Colts last week until that morning. Former Texans veteran Zach Cunningham missed the team’s COVID-19 testing, a violation of NFL policy, and GrugierHill set the single-game franchise record for tackles in relief.
It’s the sort of game that could help Grugier-Hill earn the second contract that’s so far eluded him. It’s the sort of record that explains why he now has his own banner hanging from O’Brien Field in Eastern Illinois.
It’s the sort of moment that validates a homesick Hawaiian’s decision to leave the hills, the strong trees, the brisk winds pushing from the past.
“I just feel like the opportunity I’ve gotten, I fit the scheme, I fit everything,” Grugier-Hill says. “This is
what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”