Polynesian Player Pool Growing

As the popularity of the NFL increases around the world, the diverse pool of players contributing to the game continues to expand.

When the Browns drafted linebackers David Veikune (52nd overall) and Kaluka Maiava (104th) in the second and fourth rounds respectively, they welcomed two new Pacific Islanders into the NFL.

"Polynesians, they're pretty strong, very powerful, physical people," Veikune said. "The NFL's a very physical game, so I think they put two and two together and started recruiting over there."

"We're just people trying to play football and have a job," said Maiava. "I don't know if we're the chosen few or anything. We're just trying to make a living."

The Bengals, this Sunday's opponent and the Browns' in-state rival, added a player of Samoan descent when they selected linebacker Rey Maualuga with the sixth pick in the second round (No. 38 overall).

Maualuga played linebacker next to Maiava at the University of Southern California and knows what his fellow Samoan brings to the field.

"Kaluka's a great linebacker in my eyes, an undersized linebacker, but has a lot of heart and determination to get things done," Maualuga said in a teleconference Wednesday. "He's a playmaker. Given the opportunity, he will make plays."

Veikune is a native of Wahiawa on the Island of Oahu, while Maiava hails from Wailuku on Maui. Maiava also has roots in American Samoa and proudly displays his heritage with tattoos around his right arm and leg.

In addition to Maualuga, Bengals defensive tackles Jonathan Fanene and Domata Peko are also of Samoan descent.

They are the latest players with roots in the Pacific trying to make an impact at the NFL level. Last season, almost 30 Polynesian players played in the NFL.

Steelers free safety Troy Polamalu has been one of the more high-profile Samoan players to compete in the NFL. He has 438 career tackles, 332 solo stops and 7 quarterback sacks over his seven seasons in Pittsburgh. He has 18 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown during the 2004 season.

Before Polamalu was bothering quarterbacks with blitzes off the edge or providing big hits to receivers going across the middle of the field, linebacker Junior Seau was setting the standard for Samoan players.

Seau played in the NFL from 1990 to 2008 with the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots. During his career, Seau collected 56.5 quarterback sacks and 18 interceptions.

With the success of Hawaiian and Samoan players in the NFL, more people are paying attention to high school and college football in that region. Every coach who scouts in the area is trying to land the next big star from the islands.

"In Samoa, a lot of coaches go over there to recruit out of college," said Veikune. "A lot of guys are getting opportunities that they used to not get before."

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Maiava Gets Practice Time w/ Browns Defense

Kaluka Maiava's role in his first two games with the Cleveland Browns has been on special teams, but that doesn't mean the rookie linebacker and 2005 Baldwin High School graduate can't be a factor on defense this season.

''I think both (rookie linebacker David Veikune) and Kaluka are moving forward a little bit each week,'' Browns coach Eric Mangini said at his news conference Thursday. ''And, they've gotten work with the unit, the defensive unit, through the course of practice.''

Maiava, a fourth-round draft pick out of Southern California, has two tackles through two games --- one on kickoff coverage and one on punt coverage.

Cleveland faces the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

When asked further about Veikune, who led the University of Hawaii in sacks last season, Mangini said: ''He's got some versatility, which is positive. So, he's worked outside. He's worked inside. He needs to keep improving with his overall understanding of the defense, of that week's opponent and contributing on special teams. Sometimes, you go to the game and you may not get any defensive reps, or offensive reps, but you make a real impact on teams. What we're look for, ideally, is everybody that goes to the game has an impact in whatever role they're asked to play.''

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Browns Still Looking for a Place to Keep Veikune

He might play a lot. He might play a little. He might play here. He might play there.

Not even the boss knows what he’s going to do with second-round draft pick David Veikune.

Veikune was a defensive end at Hawaii, which automatically meant he would get a crash course at outside linebacker in the Browns’ 3-4 scheme. His big body, overall skills and football IQ gave coaches the bright idea he could play inside linebacker, too. Indeed, he has.

“He has to be swimming,” Head Coach Eric Mangini said. “He’s played inside, outside, the buck position, defensive end.

“He’s going from a three-point to a two-point stance. There’s a lot of information. It will serve him well over time.”

What has it done for him lately? Veikune says he has “no idea” what his role will be in the season opener.

Has it been a quantum leap from Honolulu? A gradual one?

“I wouldn’t say quantum,” Veikune said. “Maybe in between those two.”

NOW THIRD STRING

Veikune heads into tonight’s game at Chicago listed as a third-string linebacker behind D’Qwell Jackson and Beau Bell. Bell, though, didn’t make a single tackle while appearing in four games as a 2008 fourth-round draft pick.

Veikune was drafted two rounds higher than Bell. He was the new regime’s first defensive draft pick. Will he move ahead of Bell? Do the math.

“One important thing that I’ve tried to get across to everybody, especially the rookies, is understanding the whole defense,” Mangini said. “If you understand why we’re doing it, what it’s designed to stop, what it should look like, where people should fit, then problems aren’t as tough to figure out.

“When you just know your spot, other stuff doesn’t make any sense.”

In Veikune’s case, he isn’t just soaking up knowledge. The staff envisions him as a versatile guy who can be solid in a base defense or move around and spring surprise attacks.

“I have a good amount of knowledge from Mangini in the teaching aspect,” Veikune said. “He makes sure we know everything.”

In Veikune’s case, he’s been practicing everything. Soon the games will be real.

“Everyone’s excited about the season,” Veikune said. “It’s really close.”

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Multiple Members of Browns with Hawaii Ties

There are four in all --- a taste of the Pacific in northern Ohio --- who will toil on the banks of Lake Erie, down the street from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Two are linebackers, although different in stature and background. One is a seemingly always-smiling gentle giant who will man the defensive line. The other is from the smallest place, but has made the biggest impact in the National Football League.

Kaluka Maiava and David Veikune are the linebackers; Melila Purcell is a behemoth of a defensive lineman living in a foreign land; and Kimo von Oelhoffen, a 14-year NFL veteran with a Super Bowl ring, is a slimmed-down

version of the 300-pound defensive-line monster he used to be, now taking on the role of coaching intern.

Cleveland Browns all. Men who are chasing their dreams at camp, living in dorms, eating in the cafeteria.

Maiava, the 2005 Baldwin High School graduate who played in four Rose Bowls for Southern California, says Cleveland actually has him recalling his hometown, especially after spending the last four years in Los Angeles.

''It reminds me of Maui, it reminds me of Wailuku, you know, a slow town, not too fast,'' he said. ''Coming from L.A., it is real different. It just kind of reminds me of Maui, but it is a little hotter.''

He is thankful to have some local brethren with him.

''It is real good,'' Maiava said. ''It helps me get adapted to Cleveland, being far away from home. Mel is from Samoa and David is from Oahu, so it is real good to have a couple guys from home out here. It's fun.''

Maiava was the 104th pick of April's NFL draft, going in the fourth round, two rounds after Veikune. Maiava spent his first three years at USC as a special teams standout before rising to the starting lineup as a senior and garnering defensive player of the game honors in the Trojans' 28-24 win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

As Maiava fights to make the Cleveland roster, his time at USC is valuable. He was the man at Baldwin --- playing linebacker and fullback and returning kicks --- and arrived in Los Angeles as Rivals.com's 11th-rated linebacker in the nation. After he committed to the Trojans, however, Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers --- all on the Rivals.com top-10 list of linebackers --- followed suit. When Rivers left a year early, Maiava took his starting spot and earned Pac-10 second-team honors.

Cushing was the 15th pick of the draft, by the Houston Texans. Maualuga went 38th overall, in the second round, to the Cincinnati Bengals. Clay Matthews, who joined Maiava on the first string as a senior, went to the Green Bay Packers with the 26th pick.

''I tell them, 'Let me borrow some money,' because they got a lot more than me,'' said Maiava, who signed a four-year, $2.5 million contract with the Browns last month. ''I might ask them for a job, too, if this doesn't work out. I can be in their entourage or whatever. Nah, it's the same old stuff, we say 'good luck' to each other. We are all good friends.''

Purcell, a University of Hawaii graduate, was on the Browns' practice squad last season. He said he knows of a plate-lunch diner in Cleveland --- Kimo's Sushi Shop --- but it is temporarily closed as the owner battles health concerns.

''It is good to have us all here, the connection with all the island guys,'' Purcell said. ''It doesn't matter where you are from. We have a strong bond together.''

Veikune, who at 6-foot-2 and 257 pounds is two inches taller and 28 pounds heavier than Maiava, said he has never experienced anything like the crowd of 4,000-plus that showed up for the Browns' first practice nine days ago.

''Man, I have never seen this,'' Veikune said. ''When I first came out here and saw this, I was like, 'Wow, this is the NFL.' I have never seen so many people out at practice. They are great fans, and Cleveland is a great place.''

Veikune remembers being on the UH team with Purcell in 2006.

''Mel is just a great guy and it is just reminiscent of all that, which for me is a great thing,'' Veikune said. ''Having all four of us here is great. It definitely helps, especially if anybody gets homesick, you can always lean on them. It is definitely a great thing to have some support.''

Von Oelhoffen --- whom they all look to for inspiration, waiting to see the Super Bowl ring he won with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 --- is perhaps the most unlikely participant in the Browns' camp.

He graduated from Molokai High in 1990 after being a standout on the basketball team that featured 1988 state player of the year Jarinn Akana, and the 1989 Maui Interscholastic League championship baseball team. The Farmers do not field a football team, but that didn't stop von Oelhoffen from walking on to the team at Boise State and then being a sixth-round choice by the Bengals.

Purcell said Veikune and Maiava are both strong candidates to contribute to the linebacking corps behind him.

''I think both of them are great athletes,'' Purcell said. ''You know, both of them on the field, they will make the plays regardless. They just need to get better. It feels good to have guys that you can play around with. We are going to work together and get the job done. We all eat together in the caf(eteria). Camp is pretty tight, but we all hang out whenever we have a chance.''

Maiava said his family is planning to attend the Browns' home game against the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 27, which will be his 23rd birthday. Little brother Kai Maiava, an offensive lineman for UCLA, may not be able to make that trip if the Bruins are in a bowl game.

When that comes up, Kaluka Maiava's college allegiance suddenly springs into action.

''Yeah, I don't think so,'' he said. ''Kai will be here --- he won't have anything else to do.''

Maiava said that he is working hard to adjust to the NFL --- a large change, even from a top-ranked program like USC --- and trying to make a name Cleveland fans will remember.

''Speed kills,'' he said. ''That is the biggest difference I have seen so far. Also, the boys are a lot bigger. ... Everybody here is still trying to learn how to pronounce my name. I haven't done many interviews, but I'm pretty sure they have pronounced it wrong --- 'My-Eva,' 'May-Ah-Voo,' stuff like that. They can't really get it. It is confusing for them.''

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