For the second time in the past two weeks, a pair of Kea‘au High senior football players inked college commitments — as center Josh Nihoa and receiver Sean Randall held a ceremony announcing their pledges to play for Santa Rosa Junior College on Thursday afternoon at the Kea‘au HS gym.
“I feel great,” Nihoa said. “I’m the first person in my family to go to college in any sense. I’m excited for this opportunity.”
Nihoa and Randall will share a conference — the California Community College Athletic Association’s Coast Conference — with (now former) teammates Sheydin Meek-Canon-Ching and Katin Kaluhiwa-Yamaguchi, who signed to nearby Hayward, Calif.’s Chabot College last week.
“I’m glad that I’m not going up there alone,” Randall said, “I’ll have people with me to experience it.”
Nihoa was a 2023-24 All-BIIF DI first team offense selection, and Randall received an honorable mention.
“(Nihoa) can be your personal security guard,” Kea‘au head football coach David Murray said. “He works hard, he’s relentless, he can be very aggressive. He’s always looking out for his family, he’s raised very well. That’s what he’s gonna bring to that program.
“Sean is just an overall big talent. This is a great road for him. The classroom’s a lot smaller, he can probably get himself some great exposure and move on to the next level.”
It was no coincidence that Nihoa and Randall chose SRJC — as Murray is an alumnus and former player. The two of them will be the first players that Murray has directed toward his alma mater.
“I keep in touch with the head coach, Lenny Wagner,” Murray said, “he was my position coach when I was there. He’s been there about 24 years now, and I kept in touch with him over the years. Part of my fulfillment as an alumni is to add more guys to our fraternity at Santa Rosa.”
Santa Rosa is located over an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, in northern California’s wine country. The Bearcubs compete against powerhouse JCs, such as College of San Mateo, SF City College and Butte College.
Like the other Coast Conference JCs, SRJC has had several alumni proceed to NCAA Division I schools, and even the NFL — including former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett, former UH-Manoa QB Greg Alexander, former Miami Dolphins defensive end Nawa‘akoa Lisiate Foti Analeseanoa “Koa” Misi and former Indianapolis Colts noseguard Martin Tevaseu — who now coaches at SRJC.
“The area’s great for kids to concentrate, the city can get kinda crazy,” Murray said. “It’s a legit program. It’s sent a lot of guys on to the next level.”