WATCH: Freshman Koali Nishigaya scores first rushing NCAA Touchdown for Hawaii

All Koali Nishigaya needs is an opportunity. From there, Hawaii’s freshman walk-on from Saint Louis will show he’s ready to compete on any stage.

Nishigaya was a multi-year starter for the nationally-ranked Crusaders, but his true breakout season came as a senior in 2019. As the Crusaders continued to stack up wins en route to their fourth consecutive HHSAA title, Nishigaya continued to stack accolades, racking up first team All-State honors and a Polynesian Bowl invite after he caught 79 passes for 1,020 yards and nine touchdowns. He also ran the ball 22 times for 154 yards and seven touchdowns, according to Hawaii Prep World.

Still, his prep career finished without any Division I scholarship offers. Earlier this summer, Nishigaya joined the Rainbow Warriors as a preferred walk-on. With 85 scholarship players on the roster and the 2020 college football season not counting towards a given player’s eligibility or redshirt considerations, the odds of seeing the field were not in Nishigaya’s favor. But through the same drive that made Nishigaya a favorite among teammates and coaches at Saint Louis, he was able to suit up in games. In the process, he leapfrogged more highly touted recruits on the depth chart.

Nishigaya’s first career reception came on a 26-yard pass from former Saint Louis teammate Chevan Cordeiro in a 35-24 loss to San Jose State on Dec. 12. Then on Saturday in a 38-21 win over UNLV, he scored his first touchdown on a sweep for a 4-yard rushing score, showing the same shiftiness that makes him a tough cover as a receiver.

 

The touchdown wasn’t a walk in the end zone, nor was it during a blowout. First-year head coach Todd Graham rewarded Nishigaya by putting his trust in him in a two-score game, and Nishigaya rewarded that trust right back.

“I love him. I think he’s another guy that, here’s a guy that walks on and comes out here, you just look in his eyes and he just wants an opportunity. People talk about well, he’s not that big, he’s not this, he’s not that. All I know is that when he gets in there, the guy makes plays,” Graham said of Nishigaya after the game, who is listed at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds on the Hawaii Athletics website.

“Let me tell you this, he loves this place. He loves Hawaii. Those are the guys you build your program on. He’s not asking for anything — he’s not asking for extra gear or this or that. He’s not entitled at all. Man, he’s just thrilled to put that ‘H’ on his chest and go out there and compete every day. He’s impressed this old coach.”

With all that was impeded by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many parts of Graham’s first year in Manoa have not gone according to plan. But with players like Nishigaya, Graham believes the culture he’s trying to build is on track.

“I talked to his (high school) coaches when he walked on. They said, ‘Coach, I’m telling you, this guy is a player.’ Over the years you hear that an awful lot. Let me tell you this, his coaches were exactly right because that guy is a baller. I love him and I’m going to love coaching him in the future,” Graham said.

“You can depend on guys like that, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s why kids like that, like Darius Muasau, Blessman Ta’ala. That’s why Koali, Chevan Cordeiro, that’s what it takes. We got a whole bunch of that, we need to build it, we need to train it, we need to develop it. There’s great days ahead because of the heart of the young men that we have in this program.”

 

Hawaii’s Koali Nishigaya continuing to seize the moment