LAS VEGAS — Put four Hawaiian football players in front of a bowl filled with unpredictable and colorful questions, and they quickly learn a few things.
Linebacker Jammie Ortiz is not afraid of anyone. Defensive back Elijah Palmer’s promising golf career was derailed by one small flaw. Quarterback Mika Alejado is staunchly anti-Love Island. And if Cam Barfield’s life depended on surviving training in Oklahoma, he wouldn’t want to see Ortiz standing across from him.
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Hawaii brought a lot of personality to Mountain West Media Day held at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Barfield, Ortiz, Palmer, and Alejado stepped away from the usual football questions to tackle some questions that required a little more creativity.
Barfield was asked which teammate he would least like to face in an Oklahoma practice where he has to survive.
His answer was immediate: his “brother” Otis.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Barfield said. “He might get me, I might get him. But it’s a torso. It’s 50-50 every time. I can’t treat my life like that.”
Naturally, Otis had the same question.
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His response explained Barfield’s concerns.
“Honestly, this is a bad question for me because I’m going to go head-to-head with everyone,” Ortiz said.
When told that he might be a player his teammates don’t want to play against, Ortiz smiled, but declined to specify who they should avoid.
“I’m going to run against anybody,” he said. “I have to.”
The Rainbow Warriors’ credibility extends beyond the football field and, in Palmer’s case, to the golf course.
When asked whether he would rather play golf on a football field or football on a golf course, Palmer chose the former. He thought playing soccer on a golf course would be “crazy.”
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Palmer then revealed his near miss with great golf.
“I used to be called a child prodigy,” Palmer said. “I was going to go the way Tiger Woods did, but I just kept slicing the ball. I couldn’t hit the ball straight. That was my only problem.”
He paused for a moment before confessing.
“No, I’m kidding,” Mr. Palmer said. “I’m not good at golf.”
Even Alejado, a true golfer, thought playing soccer on a 7,000-yard course would be exhausting, so he chose to play golf on a soccer field. On his bucket list is Pebble Beach. It’s a place he frequented when his sister and brother-in-law lived in Monterey and before he took up golf.
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Alejado also made perhaps the most convincing soccer argument of the afternoon. When asked if sacks are more impressive than interceptions, the quarterback sided with pass rushers.
“The interception can literally be in your hands,” Alejado said. “But with a sack, you’re playing against a 6-foot-6, 6-foot-7, 300-pound guy. You’ve got to get around him, get through double teams, get after the quarterback, tackle him. I would definitely say a sack is much more impressive than an interception.”
This is a very forgiving position for a quarterback.
Alejado was a little less generous when evaluating head coach Timmy Chung’s chances on Survivor. He initially expected Chan to make it through three-quarters of the tournament, citing his athleticism and Hawaiian-bred survival instincts.
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The problem came when Chan had to start a fire. Or maybe he hit a golf ball.
“He’s scared of the straight fairway off the tee,” Alejado joked.
Ultimately, Alejado raised his coaching chances from three-quarters to all four.
“He’s going to push through,” Alejado said. “He’s going to fight.”
The same combination of confidence, competitive spirit, and good-natured trash talk was on display throughout the Hawaiian afternoon in Las Vegas.
Barfield may not want to risk his life against Otis. Palmer may never become the next Tiger Woods. Chan might want to practice starting a fire before sending in his Survivor audition tape.
However, the Rainbow Warriors seem ready to play against anyone this season.
