About how he didn’t like Adam at first, Sol said:
“I didn’t like him. He was big time. All of these schools were after him (in high school). He was a loud mouth. He would never stop talking.” (HA)
About his outspoken personality, Adam said:
“I tend to be outspoken when I’m comfortable. Football brings it out of me. A lot of times, people may not like it.” (HA)
About how Adam took his number when they started their UH careers at the same time, Sol said:
“He took ’44.’ I wore that (jersey number) all four years of high school. He came in and took it. He was big time.” (HA)
About how he and Sol became close friends, supporting and motivating each other, Adam said:
“You see him succeed, and I want to do it, too, and vice versa. If he does something better than me or gets more tackles, I want to be the first person over there to congratulate him. He makes me want to push that much harder. It’s like: anything you do, I want to try to do better.” (HA)
Sol said that Adam is:
“the closest friend I have on the team. We’re always talking about football. We go to church together.” (HA)
HA Note: “Neither has redshirted, and each has proved to be durable. Elimimian has missed two games in four seasons. Leonard, despite fractures in both hands and a knee injury that required offseason surgery, has missed one game since moving into the starting lineup in the 2006 opener.”
About how they bonded as LBs and mainland transplants, Adam said:
“We were trying to learn the same system together and going through the same struggles of being homesick.” (HA)
HA Note: “In the summer of 2006, between their freshman and sophomore years, Leonard invited Elimimian to train in Seattle. Leonard’s high school coach had opened a training program. Also, former NFL All-Pro running back Eric Metcalf offered to lead workouts.”
About training with Adam after their freshman year, Sol said:
“It was really good. His family took me in.” (HA)
About how Sol, he, and teammate Daniel Johnson went on a July 4th outing in Washington state, Adam said:
“We hit this one part, and the current picked up. Our raft flipped over. We couldn’t touch the bottom. He thought he was going to die. He was like, ‘Adam, don’t let me die.’ We got through it. That’s one of the things that made us stronger.” (HA)
About how he and Adam rented an off-campus apartment during the spring semester of their sophomore year, Sol said:
“Nobody cooks. The microwave cooks everything.” (HA)
About how they have taken in teammates without a place to stay during the past 2 years, Sol said:
“We want to help out our teammates.” (HA)
About how he tried to surf, Adam said:
“I’m a good swimmer, but not an ocean swimmer.” (HA)
About how he wave-boarded once at Sandy’s, Sol said:
“I’ve never been back. I almost got killed. The tide (there) is treacherous. It’ll take you.” (HA)
About how his eyes welled with emotion after taping a segment with several other seniors for the “Coach Mack Show”, Sol said:
“It’s really starting to hit me. Talking about it is tough. You realize you might not come back here again. The relationships you have with people, and maybe not having it anymore, it’s kind of scary.” (HA)
About the upcoming end to Sol and his Warrior careers, Adam said:
“We talked about it earlier this year. At the end of December, we don’t know where we’ll be. The last four years, we knew the first of August we’ll be in Hawai’i until December, then we’ll go home for a few weeks, and then we’ll be back in Hawai’i. After this (season), we don’t know where we’ll train. We don’t know if we’ll get drafted. There’s uncertainty. It kind of hits you. We’re comfortable now, but we have to step out of our comfort zone. It’s going to be challenging, but at the same time, I’m cherishing every moment we have here. I’m sad to leave, but I’m excited to start a new chapter in my life.” (HA)
About his four seasons with UH, Adam said:
“I’ve learned so much culturally. I’m definitely going to miss Hawai’i. I do plan on returning for a visit.” (HA)
About his Warrior career, Sol said:
“During this time is when you mature as a man, when you grow up. It will be different not having that foundation — the relationships you have with teammates, coaches caring about you. Oh, man, it’s tough.” (HA)
About how he didn’t realized how hard it would be to have his Warrior career end, Sol said:
“I’m blessed. I never realized how great it was. It was a decision by God. I thank God every day I’m here. I could have been somewhere else. I matured as a person, and I’ve become spiritually closer to God. I’ve learned a lot. I’m glad to be a Warrior.” (HA)
